In the hills north and south
west of the city of Lyon, the
Coteaux du Lyonnais vineyards
produce 22,000 hectolitres of
divine nectar. The wines are
light red made mainly from
Gamay grapes. A small amount
of white wine is also made
using Chardonnay and Aligote.
Languedoc-Roussillon
covers the area on the border
of the west Mediterranean. The
vineyards of this sunny region
are one of the largest
expanses of vine growing
region in the world.
The region produces mainly
red wines, most of it is "Vin
de Pays". They are perfect as
every day wines. AOC wines are
very interesting to follow as
the techniques, grape
varieties and vineyards
selected tend to improve the
quality of the wine. With
the Vosges mountains and the
rest of France to the west,
and the Rhine and then Germany
to the east, Alsace really is
a mini-kingdom to itself,
which has absorbed aspects
from both French and German
cultures.
Alsace, contrary to common
practice in the rest of
France, has for many years
followed the tradition of
varietal labelling and offer a
range of delicious, well
structured, food friendly
white wines.
The varieties permitted
include the famous Riesling,
Pinot Noir, Tokay-Pinot Gris,
Gewurztraminer, Muscat and
Pinot Blanc. Consequently
Alsace is widely regarded as a
white wine region.
