Kath's Thoughts on French Wine

French wine intimidates me. That sounds like an odd reaction to what is essentially bottles of fermented grapes, but I cannot drink French wine because I'm afraid of it. Maybe it's a language thing: I had no problem learning Spanish and use that language to help decipher Italian and Portuguese bottles. French--I see names of regions, chateaux, rivers, etc., and I feel I need both a dictionary and an atlas.

Maybe I'm too American when it comes to wine. I like knowing which varietal I'm drinking up front. When I open a red, I want to know if it's a Cab or a Zin or some sort of blend. However, Spain, Portugal and Italy use the D.O. in labeling their wines, and while I don't always know which grape I'm drinking, I have a general idea what the wine will be like. For example, I know that Italian Barolos and Barbarescos are excellent (and generally out of our price range), but Barberas, produced in the same region, are generally tasty and affordable. So maybe it isn't a grape versus region issue after all.

I don't want to be intimidated by wine, and as a wine lover, I feel that I should develop at least a basic understanding of French wine (and, yes, I know that Burgundy and Bordeaux are supposed to be tops).

So, starting soon, I'm going to try to select French wines for our Saturday Sippin' selection. Since I tend to shop in the under $30 bin, I'm not quite sure what I'll find. But isn't that the fun of wine: opening a bottle and seeing what you get?

Until Saturday...