For many of us, certain countries cause clear gastronomic associations. For example, Italy is associated with the production of pasta and red wine. In France, they produce and sell in bulk champagne and croissants and connoisseurs from around the world are happy to buy wholesale fragrant sangria and jamón from Spain. Meanwhile, each of the listed countries is famous for its wine-making and it is definitely not worth stopping for one drink!

The largest importer of wine in the world, a symbol of quality and luxury, France, produces 8 billion bottles of this drink per year. It is backed by the second leader in the world of wine-making - Italy. One of the “highest” countries of Western Europe, Spain, due to its unique climate and the abundance of mountain ranges, comes out on an honorable third place in terms of volume and popularity in the world. And this is not only expensive luxury drinks for connoisseurs but also quite affordable quality and natural wines. How to understand and choose alcohol to your liking?

French wines

The most popular in the world are Bordeaux, Beaujolais, and Burgundy with dozens of internal varieties. Besides, the French themselves prefer the white wines of Alsace.

Wine is not produced in bulk, recipes are passed down from generation to generation, and the same variety of grapes from different appellants gives different tastes. This can be seen without even being a connoisseur.

In red wines, a tart taste of fruits with spices prevails; white ones have floral-fruity notes.

A special system has been developed for quality control, according to which all wines are divided into 4 categories:

AOC - the highest class of wines with the control of origin.

VDQS are wines that wait for the assignment of the first category but already meet all the criteria.

VdP - wines from French grapes with laboratory quality analysis.

VdT - wines that can be produced from the grapes of any EU country, but they are also being examined.

Italian wines

Recognized by connoisseurs of drinks - Chianti, Martini Asti, Marsala.

Italians like to buy red young wine, with a period of aging from a month to two years, as well as wine from small local farms.

45 parallel, on which the Italian territory is located, is considered the most suitable for growing grapes.

By analogy with France, the Italians introduced their classification of wines. For the same categories there are names:

DOCG - wines with a guarantee of origin and name control.

DOC is a wine with a control of origin. Most of the Italian wines belong to this category.

IGT is a wine that undergoes laboratory tests and monitors the use of certain grape varieties.

VdT - table wine, which is practically not imported. It is not explored, and for production can be used different varieties of grapes.

Spanish Wines

The most famous wines of Spain come from the regions of Rioja, Priory (Catalonia). Only wines from these territories have the status of DOCa - a guarantee of control and origin.

Spain imports mainly red wines (85%) and only partially white (15%).

The taste of red Spanish wine is always tart, rich and strong.

The classification of drinks here is similar to Italian and French:

DOCa - guaranteed names by geographical origin

DO - vintage wines of the highest quality, with origin control and anti-counterfeiting.

Vino de la Tierra - local wines that pass laboratory tests and are produced with control of grapes.

Vino de Mesa - table wines from the blending of grapes. The control is made only for the presence of sugar and alcohol in the beverage.

Wines of southern countries bear the imprint of the sun, the freshness of the sea wind and tight control at all stages of production and cultivation of the vine. Thanks to this, the wines of European countries deserve the recognition and love of connoisseurs all over the world!