France is just as renowned for its wine as it is for its food, and it used to be that France produced more wine, and had more land devoted to vineyards, than any other country in Europe. Italy and Spain now produce more, but French quality and variety are the benchmark for quality in the world.
 Wine is produced in almost every region of France, but a few of these regions are the most famous. Top among them are Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Languedoc-Roussillon, the Loire Valley, Provence, the Rhône and Savoie. When you travel France, be sure to visit a wine cellar, vineyard or local wine shop where you'll find the producers happy to talk with you about their wines.
Tasting the Wine
If you are going to a winery or local cellar or shop, keep the following wine tasting tips in mind.
- Hold the wine glass by the stem so as to not affect the temperature of the wine with your body heat.
- Tilt the glass toward the light so you can view the wine's color.
- Swivel the glass to swirl the wine releasing the wine's flavors.
- Lower your nose to (almost putting your nose into) the wine glass to smell the wine.
- Sip a small amount of the wine and swish it around inside your mouth.
- To keep a clear head spit, or if you're not driving, drink!
Keep in mind that wine tasting is just that, a tasting. There is no need to drink the wine to fully appreciate its flavors. If you take a drink from each sample, you will not be able to distinguish the difference in qualities after a couple drinks. If you are visiting a winery where several samples will be offered, it is customary to taste and then spit out each sample, except possibly the final one. Typically you will find a bucket (un crachoir) for you to spit into. In a true cellar it is acceptable to spit the wine onto the floor. Typically you will be offered tastings in order from the lowest to highest quality, so saving the drink for the best and last is customary.
Cities of France
Western France - Brittany
The delights of the French way of life can be summed up in one word, Brittany. Brittany offers eight hundred miles of grand rocky coastline with scores of bays and little fishing villages. The enchanting countryside is dotted with giant granite boulders and wild meadows on the moors, thickets and forests in a gently rolling landscape.
It is the buildings that give a region its soul, and in Brittany, you can find it in the megaliths, calvaries, castles, manor houses,  countless chapels and old villages. All of them bear witness to Brittany's eventful history and wealth of traditions.
Western France - Normandy
Just across the Channel from London, and not far from Paris, you will find the welcoming region of Normandy with its variedcoastline and rich countryside. Normandy probably has more significance to North American visitors than any other part of France.
Normandy gets its name from the 10th-century Norman Vikings that settled the country. In 1066 the famous Norman Duke William defeated the Saxon King Harold in the Battle of Hastings, was crowned King of England and became known as William the Conqueror. For many centuries after the descendants of his Norman army governed England, creating much of the Anglo-Saxon heritage.
PARIS, Capital of Culture
Paris, world capital of art and culture, gathers some of the most famous museums and monuments in the world. Not to be missed: The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay. Visit any of the many others according to your tastes and interests: the Musée Picasso, Musée Rodin, Musée Carnavalet, Musée Marmottan and the Arab Institute are just a few. Essential Paris monuments: the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe or the Grande Arche de la Défense. "Paris is a real ocean. Wander through it, describe it as you may, there will always remain an undiscovered place, an unknown retreat, flowers, pearls, monsters, something unheard of. With its history and architectural patrimony, Paris is living, moving and evolving every day. A historic, economical, architectural, cultural, artistic and academic capital, Paris understandably remains the most visited city in the world.
Major French Riviera cities : Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo (Monaco)
The French Riviera along the Mediterranean coast, provides its guests with fashionable elegant surroundings in an international atmosphere. Visitors can choose between the livelier towns of Nice and Cannes, home of the famous film  festival, and the calmer more discreet villages of Beaulieu, Menton or Cap Ferrat. The quaint harbor fishing villages have become chic tourist destinations, now full of pleasure yachts and crowded summertime beaches. The famous resorts of Juan-les-Pins and Cap d'Antibes attract the stylish jet set.
Up in the hills are the quieter medieval villages. Sainte-Agnès offers magnificent panoramic views of the sea and mountains. In St. Paul-de-Vence tourists can browse through shops and galleries set on narrow winding cobblestone streets. Throughout the region are charming country homes and terraced private villas overflowing with colorful flowers.
Grasse is the perfume capital of the world. The factories invite tourists to visit and learn how French perfumes are made.
Western France - Loire Valley
The Loire Valley is rich with meandering streams, majestic oaks, quiet roads, and lush green countryside. Its royal châteaux and pastoral villages grace its overwhelming natural beauty.
Easy access from Paris, breathtaking architectural masterpieces, tiny discoveries hidden in the gentle folds of the landscape, accommodations from delightful to sumptuous, the excitement of great food and wine, sports and leisure activities make this an ideal spot for an unforgettable holiday. Visitors can delight in the hotels and inns on picturesque cobblestone streets and take day tours to the many points of interest just minutes from every major Loire Valley town.The patchwork fields, cool forests and lazy rivers of the Loire Valley invite the active vacationers to walk, cycle, windsurf, sail and canoe in the gentle countryside. Tennis players and golfers will find first rate facilities throughout the region. Visitors can drift leisurely over the châteaux and countryside in a hot air balloon or enjoy the spectacular sights from while floating along on a houseboat or barge.
Fairs, festivals, pageants and concerts fill the Loire calendar from spring to autumn. Sound and light productions at Amboise, Chenonceau, Blois, Valençay and Azay-le-Rideau bring royal chateau history and tradition to life.
Eastern France - Burgundy
The center for wine making in Burgundy is the medieval jewel of Beaune with its distinctive Flemish polychrome roofs, checkerboard patterns of gold and colors woven into a terra cotta tapestry. The huge duchy of Burgundy once included most of Holland and Belgium, so the Flemish influence is striking in the architecture of the city's Hôtel-Dieu (Hospices). Each November, the Trois Glorieuses wine auction inside sells wines to raise money for charity, and in so doing sets prices for the year's vintage.
 Those who want to know the intimate details of Burgundy's wines can soak up the facts in the nearby Wine Museum, or even better - get a taste of them in the villages where they are produced. Vacationers can also visit open-air markets where the bounty of Burgundy's tables is spread out for sale. Chablis is now practically synonymous with white wine itself, but the town of Chablis is the northwest quadrant of the region that has given the wine its name is only one of many towns where Burgundy whites are the raison d'être, including Pouilly-sur-Loire and the medieval jewel called Auxerre.
Burgundy is not all eating and drinking, and its rich history stretches back to Roman Gaul. When most of Europe was still a collection of petty towns and knights, Burgundy was synonymous with splendor, power and grace. Dijon may be more well-known now for its spicy mustards, but it was once the capital of the Dukes of Burgundy. The Ducal palace that sprawls over the better part of a mile housed Europe's most powerful princes, including Charles the Bold. The Palace has been transformed into a magnificent art museum that houses not only the treasures of the dukes's past but a splendid collection of paintings and statues.
Dijon is just under an hour and a half from Paris on the TGV, and within easy reach are other jewels of burgundy's glorious past, including the Romanesque Basilica of Sainte-Madeleine in Vézelay, Fontenay's Cistercian Abbey, and the remains of Cluny near Mâcon. The Morvan Massif's lakes and hills have also become a mecca for hikers, boaters and mountain bikers. |
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