The French drink apéritifs before their meals as appetite stimulants. Accompanying their meals is usually a good wine. The French are very particular about how their wines marry with their food. Following are some tips to help you to understand choose French apéritifs and select the right wines to go with meals either in a restaurant, or at your home.
Instructions
French Apéritifs
1. French apéritifs range from a simple vermouth or vermouth mixed with a liqueur like cassis (a blackcurrant drink), to a bitter-tasting distilled drink like Cynar, made from artichoke hearts. Vermouth is a fortified wine made from red or white grapes. Some popular apéritifs that French people enjoy are Byrrh, Dubonnet, Pastis and St. Raphael. These are wine and brandies based and flavored with herbs and bitters.
If you enter a French bistro around dinner time and look around, you would find most people enjoying a glass of Pernod or Ricard; these drinks are anise-based and licorice flavored (See Reference 1).
2. If you should be offered some amuse-gueule in France, know that it means appetizers or cocktail snacks. Some of the common appetizers served with French aperitifs are pâtés, charcuterie (cold cuts of ham, sausage or pork), crevettes (shrimps), huîtres (oysters), escargots (snails) and olives. These appetizers are usually served before the main course of a meal. However, appetizers may also be served with no main meal to follow; for instance, at a reception or a cocktail party.
3. French wines have earned the reputation of being the best in the world. They combine the qualities relating to balance between acidity and sweetness, as well as the bouquet, body and ability to improve with age. The French climate and geography is largely responsible for wines combining all qualities to perfection, since they are perfect for growing grapes.
4. Choose a white burgundy like Chablis. Chablis is a dry white wine from the Burgundy region. It has a bouquet and a nutty taste, and goes especially well with lobster. It also goes well with salmon; Chardonnay, which is one of the most popular French wines also belongs here. It foes particularly well with grilled salmon. Montrachet and Sauvignon Blanc can also be added to this group (See Reference 2).
5. A dry red (rouge) Graves from Bordeaux goes well with poultry. This is a robust, red wine which also goes well with meat and cheese. Pomerol and St. Emilion are two more Bordeaux wines that are full-bodied red wines and also go well with poultry, meat and cheese. Medoc is another Bordeaux wine; it is a light red wine, which is also recommended here.
Anjou is a semi-sweet rosé from the Loire which I can recommend here.Chateau-neuf-du- Pape is a full bodied red wine from the Rhône which marries well with game, poultry and meat. Anjou also goes well with fish, and is especially good with ham. A good Burgundy is also excellent with roast beef or steak.
The sweet Sauternes from Bordeaux are perfect for desserts. Sauternes is a honey-sweet white wine. Champagne sec is also very good for desserts. The French end their meals with good selection of cheeses and a glass of liqueur (un digestif).The usual ones are brandy served in a warm glass, or Crème de Menthe, or Drambuie (a whisky liqueur).
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