RESTAURANTS AND WINE—FRENCH ESSENTIALS - CultureShock! A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette: France - page 154

very unlike a sweet fortii ed American wine with the brand
name Muscadet. There is a Pouilly in this region too, which
is a lighter white, made from the Chasselas grape, not well
known outside of France.
The house wine on our list will probably be a blend from
the south of France, without an AOC and young, but drinkable
with the meal, as was intended.
The rosé wines in France, especially those of the south
(in Provence, for example) are actually the closest to those
wines i rst made by the Romans. They are usually a blend of
different red grapes, and the only reason for the light colour is
that the skins are removed when the berries are i rst crushed.
Most red grapes have white juice. To create a red wine,
the wine maker leaves the skins in the tank after the grapes
are crushed and as they ferment. It is the skins that give the
red colour and also much of the tannin.
Choosing a Wine with Maturity
My pet peeve about wines in restaurants, in France and all
over the world, is that the reds are sold before they are fully
developed. It is a waste of money to drink an expensive Bordeaux
or Burgundy wine that is only two or three years old. The grapes
simply haven't had enough time to mingle properly. Adding to
the problem, restaurants do not always put the vintage dates of
their wines on the wine list. Don't be bashful about asking for
the vintage on any bottle of wine, other than the carafe wines, of
course. Give a good AOC white wine at least two years and a AOC
good red at least four or i ve years to age properly before you
drink it. You will appreciate the difference.
So, in the Provençal rosé you'll i nd some character of a
red wine, but it will be lighter and perfume-like. The rosé of
Tavel, which is a village north of the Provence, in the Côtes
du Rhone region, will have a more robust blend of red grapes.
The house rosé will be a more simple wine, probably from
the Provence but without all the requirements for an AOC.
Among the reds, you'll i nd a wider variety of l avours
and prices. There is a constant debate between Bordeaux