What is your favorite French WINE?
 

There was a great thread on French cheeses that left me with a formidable list of possibilities. Now what is your favorite French wine? I know. I know. It depends on what you are eating, but surely you have a favorite - match it with a food if you will. I confess to relying on the sommelier in restaurants or going by price in Champion but I would love to ask for "a red 'vin de sable' from the Aigues Mortes region" as mentioned by PBProvence in a previour post. (Doesn't it sound great?)
What do you choose for that picnic in the park?

A fine Bordeaux, the best I can afford for any given adventure.

Hi Rob,

I have a great difficulty deciding among Chateau Haut Brion, Chateau Cheval Blanc, Chateau Mouton Rothschild, Chateau Lafitte Rothschild and Chambertin Clos de Beze.








In my dreams. :)

((I))

Whatever is on my table. Something modest for a modest budget.

My favorite French wine in Europe is Chateau Neuf de Pape, but I'll take a Clos de Bois merlot from California anytime when home here in Tallahassee.

I'm keen on provencale roses...
I adore real Chablis
Sancerre is fine.
I love the smooth flavor of a Maconaise white...

Any "house" white wine ... the kind that comes in little clay pitchers or glass carafes by the liter in cafes and casual restaurants.

ira - I was expecting better from you. I've seen your posts and you must have a fav that you'd share.
coccinelle & suze - but what do you pickup from the grocery store? I'm afraid I often go by price - E6 - E10.
SuzieC - Thanks - I'll look for those.
Neo - you're an insider - always a Bordeaux?
dert - I love Chateau Neuf du Pape as well

A good red Burgundy (La Tâche for choice), a Gigondas, a white Montrachet (preferable a Corton-Charlemagne of a good vintage), and in Provence in the warm weather a well chilled rosé from Bandol. For Champagne I'll take just about any hosue.

I'm stuck on Chardonnay in CA. But when going over there, would like to try other wines. Is there some safe varietal that you could recommend?

I will also go for the house wine, but am sure to wander into a store (Monoprix? Package store? special wine shop) to buy a few bottles for our room. Any direction on this?

Also, the finest Bordeaux I can afford? What would one spend for a very nice bottle of in Paris. Thanks.

Ah, there's the problem: wines in France aren't classified by varietels but by regions and vineyards with each region.

You could easily spend 200 Euros for a good bottle of French wine. However, if you settle on, say, a Beaujolais or a Rhône, you will drink quite well if you prefer reds. For whites, try a Muscadet or Sancerre.

At the grocery store I pick up anything that is white, made in the country I'm visiting, that is under 10USD equivalent.

Heavens, sure, just go into a grocery store or corner store. I only drink white (personal preference), pick by the label and the price (not expensive). When I find one I like I remember it and buy it again.

I wouldn't go into a specialty wine shop unless you are comfortable with wines and willing to pay a bit more than I normally do.

Muscadet or Sancerre, as Underhill said are trustworthy in my experience.

I like red Bordeaux and I don't think I've had a bad bottle from St. Emilion or Fronsac yet. :)

SuzieC if you like the Provençale Rosés, you will love the Domaine Tempier, but alas, here very expensive so we usually have it in summer on special dinners and the 4th.

A Loire Rosé such as Cabernet d'Anjou.

Without a doubt, my favorite wine while in Paris was the beaujalais....I have no idea of the vinery....but there was some sort of beaujalais festival going on (saw flyers for it in many restaurants), so I always ordered the cheapest amount of it.

It was heavenly! A bit strong though. I was usually tipsy after just one glass!

Is wine higher in alcohol content in France than in the US?

It seems to me that red wine in France is taking a hammering on world markets because of the improved quality of red wine coming from the New World. As an Australian, that's been my experience on my many visits to France. I have tasted many of the best from Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley and Burgundy, and fell that there is little real difference between these and the best from the USA and Australia in particular. The French are very concerned about this, and may have to address their system of Appelation Controlee, which may well be hindering them at the moment.
However, the wines in France that seem to be quite superior to those from the New World are , first, the sparkling wines from the Champagne region, and, second, the Grand Cru riesling and gerwurtztraminer wines from Alsace. Try a Grand Cru Riesling, or, even better, a Vendange Tardive Riesling, or, better still, a Selection Des Grand Nobles Riesling. They, unlike French red wines, will be miles superior to any white wine from your area, no matter where you live in the world.

Yes, the <i>Appellation Control&eacute;e</i> laws prevent the wineries from experimenting and adapting, as the rest of the world's growers do.

It reminds me of the dearth of feedback in the Soviet economic system that inevitably brought it down.