All's well, that ends well. We have now come to the ending of Strawberry Wine. Until we meet again, adios.

The World's Largest Wine Producer

The largest wine producing area of the world can be found at the border of the Mediterranean Sea, in between Spain and the Rhone delta. Out of a population of 2.4 million, there are fifty thousand involved in growing vines. The area they consume spans twenty seven thousand and four hundred square kilometers (10500 miles). There are 400 cooperatives and about 2800 private wineries in the land with Banyuls to the southwest and Muscat to the east. Out of that comes two billion bottles of wine.

The area has hot summers and mild winters. The soil ranges from sandstone and limestone to granite pebbles. Cargnan, Merlot and Grenache other red wines are produced here and among the white wines there is Roussane, Chardonnay and Viognier.

It was the Greeks who started the cultivation of vineyards in this area as early as the 6th century BC when the Romans arrived in the region this cultivation was developed and it went on with the Visigoths in the 5th century. The monasteries in the 9th century developed the hillside regions for the vineyards and used the valleys for grains and in the 19th century the plains became vineyards as well. Currently it is the plains of Herault, Gard and Aude that make up a half of France?s overall grape yield.

For some years the quality of wines began to lag but in the past few decades with the emergence of Syrah there is been a return to quality. Syrah is opaque, purple in color, and has the scent of sweet black berry spiced with cassis and black pepper

The Vin de Pay D?Oc has been improving the region?s reputation in the past ten years with the Corbieres and the earthy Minervois.

Most winegrowing areas are dominated by a particular Chateau. In this area this is not so, most wines are produces by cooperatives who buy grapes grown on local farms. The grapes are put through a process that includes adding grape spirit. This stops the fermentation, saves the sweetness and raises the alcohol level to fifteen or sixteen percent. Wines such as Vin Doux Naturel made from Grenache or Muscat and Muscat de Frontignan or Banyuls are made from this process. They are wonderful dessert wines and are similar to port when it comes to aging potential.

White wine grown here are also of high quality. The Chardonnay and Marsanne are grown in Argelier, an area west of Bezier. The dry, fresh taste with an aroma of apple and oak comes from the chalky soil and the early harvesting process which allows for only a few hours of skin contact before pressing.

There are other red wines of interest such as the full bodied, spicy Corbieres that are made from Carignan and Grenache grapes grown in marl, sandstone and limestone. There are more than seventy million bottles produced that can go through three to seven years of aging.

In the sunniest region of France the Pyrenees in Roussillon produces another variety of reds. The area is closer to Spain and the Carignan is the main grape variety grown in the region. The wine produced is of medium body, spicy and has hints of licorice.

About the Author:

Melinda Carnes is a staff writer at Everything Gourmet and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including Coffee Enthusiast.

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Don't skip tasting the wine in a restaurant. Stop your conversation for a moment and give the wine your full attention. The nasty secret is that 5 % of all the wine bottled can be bad. That's all you're tasting for. Does the wine smell like a cheap hotel room shower or not?
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What if there is no wine clerk available? Again, go by the ratings and by a type of wine you know you like. If there is more than one choice, write down the names of the ones you do not buy. The next time you're in a restaurant, if you see one on the menu, try a glass of it. Also, many wine shops now offer tastings to let you sample various types of wines to determine what your favorite is.
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Every wine has a differentideal length of aging to bring out its best flavors. This depends on the type of wine, the region the wine was made in, the technique used to make it, and the particular year the grapes were harvested in. As a general guideline, whites normally do not age for long, while reds age for 5-10 years. It all comes down to what you yourself enjoy best, but if you're starting out, aging charts help you see when a wine is typically best enjoyed.
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The Bordeaux Wine Experience specializes in luxury wine and culinary tours in the Bordeaux region and is generally considered as the leading Bordeaux wine tour company.
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Speak to the Sommelier or Wine Steward. Most good wine stewards are in it for passion, a love of wine, and usually a love for food. The sommelier profession has evolved a lot in the last 20 years and it�s time to stop thinking of it as a bunch of snobs waiting to make you feel like an ignorant in front of your date. Sommeliers are wine lovers just as you are and would only be glad to give their 2-cents about the list they so lovingly created if you only asked them. They know the intricacies of the chef�s cooking and they tasted and bought the wines. To let a sommelier discreetly know how much you want to spend, point to any wine on the list in your price range and then engage in a conversation with him about your tastes and what you like to drink.
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