Jul 28 2009
The Recognized Wine Areas of France (Part II)
The island of Corsica
The island is in the Mediterranean. The consumers of wines produced there are primarily the citizens of Corsica. This region has its own technological traditions of designation and old methods of production. There you can see the Corsican style of producing wine, which is carefully kept to by the Corsicans.
The Jura area
Another wine region in France is Jura. It is rather small and is situated near Switzerland. There wines are also produced according to the old traditions, and we can distinguish some original styles of wine producing (precisely, the Vin Jaune and Vin de Paille styles). The area possesses 6 appellations and is directly connected with the region of Burgundy. The reason is that the majority of wines produced there are made of grapes sorts cultivated in Burgundy, such as Chardonnay or Pinot Noir. However, a lot of other sorts of grapes are used for the Jura wines. We can also admit that Jura is a cold wine region in France, like Burgundy is.
The Languedoc-Roussillon region
Obviously, the largest territory in France occupied by vineyards is Languedoc-Roussillon. Here the main resources for France wine industry are concentrated. But we must mention that the grapes from Languedoc-Roussillon are used for producing rather cheap wines. So, this region is a real wine lake of France. It supplies a lot of European countries with raw products for wine industry, though some innovative technologies and appellations are being developed there. The producers of wine successfully combine the old French traditions and the new technologies elaborated in other countries. Much of wine made in Languedoc-Roussillon is sold under the Vin de Pays d’Oc label.
The region of Provence
Provence is situated in the south-east of France. The region is one of the warmest in the country. Mainly red and rosé sorts of wine are made there. Provence wines are produced within the standards of the eight main appellations. Professionals compare some wines made there with those of the Southern Rhône region due to similarity of styles and climatic conditions.
Rhône Valley
The region lies to the south-east of France, along the river of Rhône. Within the territory of the Rhône Valley usually two parts are distinguished: the northern and the eastern parts. Actually, the styles and gustatory compositions of wines made in different parts differ, however both territories are the strong competitors to Bordeaux wines.
The Savoy region
Savoy (or Savoie) is situated in the Alps, near Switzerland. The region is famous for producing dessert France wine of a variety of grapes cultivated exclusively in this locality.
South –western wine regions
A lot of areas are included to this notion. Among the most developed are: Bergerac; areas along Garonne, with Cahors; areas in Gascony (Armagnac, Madiran, Côtes de Gascogne, Côtes de Saint-Mont, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh and Tursan are made there); Jurançon; Irouléguy etc.
Of course, there are other smaller areas where grapes are cultivated and wine is made; these regions are mainly the remnants of larger production territories which were there before
