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• The vine grows
in the shape of a sarmentous shrub, its Latin name is
vitis will vinifera, it was domesticated for the culture
of its fruits and the wine making and that since antiquity.
Its various varieties are called type of vines and have
their own characteristics which create various flavours
of the wines.
There is nearly 6000 vine types throughout the world.
Only fifty are cultivated in France.
• The grape varieties have
particular characteristics of taste, colors etc…
which give a scent to the wine in different ways. The
grapes are black and white, the red and rosy wines result
from black type of grapes while the white wines can result
from black or white grapes, they are then called “White
of Blacks” or “White of White”. The
type of grapes bring their own characters to the wine
but these differences also depend on the variety of the
soils.
• The soil (terroir) is the
fruit of an interaction between ground and climate. The
vine needs water but it nevertheless can't bear the accumulation
of water. Therefore the soils best fitted for vines are
often draining grounds (they let water be evacuated naturally).
The wines of Languedoc benefit from a large amount of
sun in the area but also from strong rains during spring
and autumn. The type of vines most widely planted in Languedoc
are black Grenache, Syrah, Mouvèdre, Merlot as
well as white type of vines like Bourboulenc and Viognier.
Nature takes part in the specialization of a wine through
the variety of grapes it provides and the nature of the
soil, it is then the work of man who ends the process
by associating these natural elements to its techniques
of wine making
• The wine making indicates
the passage from fruit to wine. One liter of wine will
require before the the start of the process more than
a kilo of grapes. There too nature brings its contribution
since alcoholic fermentation is a natural phenomenon.
The yeasts contained in the grains of the fruit act on
the grapes' sugars and transform them into alcohol. The
temperature must be maintained at 32° during alcoholic
fermentations. The wine making is carried out in a few
days and can last up to one month. As for the breeding
in the barrels, it can be spread out over a few months
or a few years for the wines which require an elaborate
work.
• The AOC or Name of Controlled Origin
guarantees a certain number of characteristics
belonging to a soil. The vine growers are then constrained
by legislation to use of certain type of vines and a clearly
defined method of production. The wine will be then tested,
certain standards of aspect, odor, taste are required
to obtain the AOC label.
• The local wines (vins de pays),
as for them, come from the geographical area
from which they bear the name. They are also subject to
strict norms such as the minimum alcoholic strength, maximum
production ect...
• The Millésime corresponds
to the year of production. Certain very good years are
a guarantee of a certain specificities of the wine. The
vin de pays are drunl in the first years following their
production. Therefore not attention is payed to their
year of production. |
