1 Color of the wine
葡萄酒的颜色
The color of the wines can be red, white or pink, this is not a reflection or indication of quality, it is simply the decision of the winery on the kind of wine they produce. The color of the wine comes from the skin of the grape and tanins!
Generally we use 3 different kinds of grape color, a red skin and red flesh to produce a deep red wine, a white skin and a white flesh to make our full bodied white wine, and a red skin with white flesh to make our elegant pink wines. Whil there are over 5000 grapes varieties, only around 400 are used for producing wine.
葡萄酒的颜色主要分为三种：红、白、和桃红。要注意的是，葡萄酒的颜色并不能代表葡萄酒的质量，它仅仅体现了葡萄酒厂酿酒时的一种选择。葡萄酒的颜色来自于葡萄的果皮和单宁。通常来讲，我们选用红色果皮和红色果肉的葡萄来酿造红葡萄酒，白色果皮和白色果肉的葡萄来酿造白葡萄酒，红色果皮和白色果肉的葡萄来酿造粉红葡萄酒。目前世界上大约有5000个葡萄品种，其中约有400种用于葡萄酒生产。
2 Grapes
葡萄
Grapes, as a fruit, are the most cultivated all over the world, unfortunately not all are not grown to make wines. The most famous grapes in France are Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot noir, Grenache, Syrah… For the white wines, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Viognier and Muscat are amongst the most famous…
葡萄，是目前世界上广泛种植的一种水果，不过并不是所有葡萄都可以用来酿造葡萄酒。法国最著名的红葡萄品种主要有梅洛、赤霞珠、黑皮诺、歌海娜、西拉等等。用来酿造白葡萄酒的葡萄品种有霞多丽、长相思、维欧尼和麝香等，这些都是比较知名的葡萄品种。
3 Classificationof French Wines
法国葡萄酒等级
French wines areclassified on a 3 step basis:
法国葡萄酒一般分为三个等级：
VDF (Vin de France)
The wine is produced in France, whatever the quantity, the grapes and the area.
日常餐酒：在法国生产，葡萄和产区都在法国境内。
IGP (Identification Geographique Protegee)
The wine is produced in France, with limited area production and sometimes with a selection of grapes varietal.
地区餐酒：在法国特定的某个产区生产，有时对葡萄品种也有限制。
AOP (Appellationd’Origine Protégée)
The vine is produced in France, with very limited production, very limited area, and strict limited selection of grapes varietal.
法定产区葡萄酒：在法国特定的某个产区生产，并且对葡萄品种和产量都有严格限制。
That doesn’t mean an AOP will be better than an IGP, but with control of a lower production the wine should be better. Except for boutiques wines, they are mostly very small wineries who don’t place much emphasis on the classification and produce amazing wines, but most of the time in very limited quantities. Often, in France less volume results in improved quality as the producer can take better care of their vines, grapes and produce superb wines…
值得一提的是，一瓶法定产区的葡萄酒并非一定比地区餐酒好，关键是在于对产量的控制。有一些精品葡萄酒，它们大多来自于小酒庄，这些酒庄并不过分关注酒的级别，只生产及其少量的葡萄酒，但是生产出来的酒却令人非常惊喜。通常来说，在法国，葡萄种植面积越小，那么生产出来的葡萄酒质量越高，因为生产者会在每一棵葡萄树上花更多的精力，从而产出更好的葡萄酒。
4 Appellations
产区
Although compared to China, France is a small country, but it has many different climates and soils types. Most of the best soils are situated around rivers, the main five appellations in France are Bordeaux, Rhone Valley,Burgundy Loire and Languedoc, inside each area there are several under appellations. There are over 350 different Appellations in France, some very small but never the less very interesting to discover.
尽管在国土面积上和中国相比，法国只是一个小国，但是它拥有多样化的气候类型和土壤类型。鉴于大多数优质的土壤都集中在河岸周围，因此法国有四个主要的法定产区：波尔多、罗纳河谷、勃艮第和朗格多克，而它们下面又有许多的子产区。总的来说，法国大约有350个不同的产区，有些甚至很小，但从不缺乏让人探索的乐趣。
5 Classificationof sweetness of wines
葡萄酒的甜度划分
There are four kinds of different wines according to the sweetness. Dry wines Less than 4 Gr of Sugar per liter, the semi-dry between 4Gr and12Gr, the semi-sweet between 12gr and 45gr and the sweet wines over 45gr. People when they taste wines for the first time, usually prefer the sweet wines, as with you, however tastes change with maturity and our mouths evolve to appreciate the full range of aromas and tastes.
根据酒体中的残糖含量，葡萄酒一般被划分为四类：干葡萄酒是指糖含量不超过4克/升的葡萄酒；半干葡萄酒是指糖含量在4克/升到12克/升之间的葡萄酒；半甜葡萄酒是指糖含量在12克/升到45克/升之间的葡萄酒；甜葡萄酒是指糖含量超过45克/升的葡萄酒。一般来说，人们初尝葡萄酒时，往往更喜欢喝甜葡萄酒。之后，随着对酒更深层次的了解，也会开始喜欢上不同香气和口感的葡萄酒。
6 Tasting
品尝
A professional tasting for the wine is like a natural way of drinking wine, first we look at the wine, then we smell the bouquet and then we drink
专业的品酒过程分为三步：首观其色，再闻其香，后品其味。
Eyes: 观色
In order to check a wine, first step is to look at the wine, look at the color, is it strong or light, dark purple or brown. For the white wines, the color can be limpid to amber color. Also you can see the texture of the wine, the tears in the glass.
要品鉴一款酒，第一步是用眼睛看酒，看酒的颜色，颜色是深还是浅，是深紫色还是棕色。对于白葡萄酒，酒色是从柠檬黄到琥珀色。此外，通过观察还能看到葡萄酒在酒杯内璧上留下一条条的酒痕。
Nose: 闻香
You need to put your nose into the glass and the smell you will get is the primary aroma of the wine, then you should swirl the glass to release the aromas, swirling the glassmakes the wine breathe and give off its beautiful aromas.
第二步是闻酒，你需要把鼻子探入杯中，此时你所感知的气味为酒的“第一气味”，也叫“前香”。接着轻轻晃动酒杯，释放葡萄酒的香气。摇晃酒杯可以使得氧气与葡萄酒充分融合，从而最大限度地释放出葡萄酒的独特香气。
Mouth: 品尝
You need to make the wine swirl around in your mouth, in order to use all your of your taste buds.You will be able to taste the aromas and you can find fruit aromas, spices orwood, butter, white fruits, flowers or honey for the whites…
品酒时要让酒布满你的口腔四周，充分运用你的味蕾去感知。你会品尝到葡萄酒独有的香味，红葡萄酒会有如水果、香料、橡木、黄油等的香气，白葡萄酒中有水果，鲜花，蜂蜜等香气。
7 Service
饮用建议
A great wine should only be served in the correct glass, if the glass is poor quality, you cannot enjoy a great wine!!!
一款好的葡萄酒应该配正确的酒杯，如果选错了酒杯，你是没办法尽情享受这款美妙的葡萄酒的。
Most of the wines need to be open 20 to 30 min before drinking for more basic wines you can open and drink but you should always wait for the aromas to open, imagine the wine is like a prisoner inside a bottle during long time he need time to open and breathe. The old wines should be opened and directly served as their aromas are older they can disappear quickly.
许多葡萄酒在饮用前需要先醒酒20-30分钟。对于一般的葡萄酒来说，打开即可饮用，不过你得静静等它的香气散发出来。想象一下，葡萄酒就好像长时间被困在酒瓶中的囚犯，它需要时间去呼吸和清醒。陈年酒最好在打开后直接饮用，因为它的香气可能会散发得非常快。
You need to respect the correct serving temperature for serving the wine according of its origin and color, most of the red wines need to be served between 17° to 18°. For the white wines, according to its sweetness between 8° to 12°. No need to decant all the wines, just the strongest need to be decanted.
根据酒的产地和种类，选择合适的饮用温度。大部分红葡萄酒最好在17°-18°之间饮用。而白葡萄酒，根据其甜度，一般在8°-12°之间饮用。并不是所有的葡萄酒都需要醒酒，只是有时针对那些酒体偏重的葡萄酒。
8 Food
食物
In France, a great wine is a great accompaniment to a meal, and shared with friends in order to improve the feeling for the food. This is true for the majority of wines, except the Champagne which is drunk to celebrate or at the end of a diner. Each different color of wine suits a particular kind of food. White is generally drunk as aperitif or with fishor sea food, a pink wines will also suit with aperitifs during the summer and salads or barbecues, the red is drunk as aperitifs but more with red meat,spicy dishes, some strong cheese’s, the sweet wines are more for dessert.
在法国，一款好酒是餐桌上的佐餐佳品，可以和朋友分享，提升菜品的口感。对于大多数葡萄酒来说，这是一个不可否认的事实，除了香槟。因为一般香槟酒在庆祝之时或是晚餐结束之后饮用。酒的颜色不同，搭配的菜肴也不尽相同。例如，白葡萄酒主要作为开胃酒，或者搭配鱼或海鲜饮用；桃红葡萄酒也可以当做开胃酒饮用，尤其是在夏季，或者配以沙拉、烧烤一起食用；至于红葡萄酒，餐前小酌，或在用餐时搭配红肉，辛辣菜品，或者是味重的奶酪；而甜葡萄酒更多的是和甜点一起食用。
