Family celebrations and business dinners, gatherings with friends and social events ... Many events can not do without a feast or buffet. Often on a table it’s considered good form to put a bottle of expensive quality wine. Choosing one is not an easy procedure, it is not enough to take into account the compatibility of the type of wine with the dishes to be served, one must also understand the grape varieties, the shades of its blend, know which and in which year the crop was the best, and so on. It is no coincidence that wine is taught at a professional level: upscale sommeliers who know all the subtleties of this wonderful drink are required in restaurants around the world.
Even if you do not plan to engage in the selection of wines on a professional level, in order not to get lost near the wine windows when buying a bottle for the next solemn event, you should learn the basics of wine terminology.
This article discusses what is cru, appellation and terroir.
What is wine
There are a great many varieties of wines: they differ in blending, that is, in the combination of grape varieties from which the drink is made (moreover, wine is also made from other berries and fruits, and this is another story altogether). The taste of wine depends on the year of harvest, production technology, aging and, of course, on the place in which it was made.
The most famous and popular around the world are the wines of Italy and France. It is in these South European countries that the most suitable climate for growing grapes. Therefore, often when choosing a wine, people come across strange words.
Viva la France!
Most of the concepts from the terminology of winemakers appeared in France, in the same language they spread throughout the world. An ordinary amateur does not need to bother with complex specific terms. If you are a wine connoisseur and want to show off the ability to choose the right drink, then you just need to understand the basic concepts: what is cru, appellation and terroir.
Basic concepts
The main thing is to know the meaning of the word terroir, because it influences how grapes grow. So, the terroir is a whole complex, a combination of all the climatic and soil conditions of the area where the vineyard is located.
This includes the average annual air temperature, its humidity, wind direction and strength, the number of sunny days in a year, relief, soil composition and much more.
The terms appellation and the cru are sometimes confused, although, despite the fact that they, like the concept of terroir, refer to the area where the grapes were grown, they mean different phenomena.
Appellation is a region of growing grapes, a huge territory, united by the sign of a similar terroir. That is, in one appellation, about the same climatic conditions, therefore, wines of the same varieties are produced on their territory.
And here’s what Cru is: literally, it's a vineyard. However, in winemaking this word does not mean a simple economy, but only those vineyards that have established themselves. Wine marked with the Cru label is made specifically from berries harvested in such a vineyard. Buying Grand Cru wine, you can be sure of its high quality and excellent taste. True, a bottle of such a drink will have to pay a tidy sum.
Now, knowing the basic concepts of winemaking: what is cru, appellation, terroir, you can feel like a real sommelier.