The French pride themselves on their wine and they pride themselves on knowing a lot about it too. But for an American it can be a bit overwhelming. But a few little tips and facts can make French wine, and wine in general, a simpler experience. The idea that red wine should be drank at room temperature was developed when rooms where colder on average, now that rooms remain a little warmer though most people drinks reds a little on the warm side. Don’t feel bad asking it to be chilled, five to ten minutes in the fridge gets a bottle to just about the right temperature.
Another thing is that out of the thousands of varieties of grape used to make red wine, only about ten are commonly known. Take advantage of restaurants to try lesser known wines, if they weren’t good the sommelier would not want them on the wine list after all. This can lead to big savings because even a high end Languedoc is cheaper than a bargain Bordeaux, but this is not because Languedoc is not good. The less demand for a particular wine, the lower the price, many a good grape has stopped production just because of a lack of demand, not quality. Filling six bottle wine totes with lesser known wines can really be a treat for the savvy wine lover wanting to share with friends the joy of grape.
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