Food and Dining in France

The French are used to choosing from an amazing array of drinks made to be drunk at just such times. Before dinner drinks are called apéritifs and are meant to “open,” or prepare, the palate for the meal. In fact, the word apéritif comes from the Latin aperire, “to open.

Food & Wine Pairings
There are no rules when choosing a wine but to please your palate. Don’t let rigid ideas about what you can and can’t drink stop you from enjoying what you like.

That said, there are two general guidelines that can help increase your enjoyment of your favorite wines, and the food you pair with them:

Serve red wines with meat
The tannins in red wine (tannins are what’s responsible for the astringent feeling in your mouth when you drink young red wine or strong black tea) react with the protein in the meat, letting the softer, often fruitier characteristics of the wine show through.

Serve white wines with mild, white-fleshed fish and shellfish
The milder, more delicate flavors of white wine complement, rather than overwhelm, mildly-flavored fish.

Samples of foods that go equally well with white or red wines:

- Lightly-sauced pasta (like a fresh tomato sauce) with white Bordeaux (Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon), or with Beaujolais (Gamay) or red Burgundy (Pinot Noir).
- Grilled chicken with a dry white wine, such as white Burgundy (Chardonnay), or with a medium-bodied red like Cétes du Rhéne.
- Salmon or pork with white Burgundy (Chardonnay) or with red.

Samples of classic food and wine pairings:

- Light and spicy Asian food with Alsace Pinot Gris.
- Beef stew or roast with red Burgundy (Pinot Noir).
- Lamb with red Bordeaux (Cabernet /Merlot).
- Smoked salmon with Champagne.
- Grilled fish with Loire Valley whites (Sancerre, Vouvray) or a Vin de Pays Viognier.
- Roast turkey and gravy with red or white Burgundy (Pinot Noir or Chardonnay), or red Côtes du Rhéne.
- Ribeye steak with a Vin de Pays Merlot.

Did you know ?
France has 35,000 boulangeries (bakeries). Buy a baguette, a ficelle, a fléte, a boule, an épi, or a longuet, and enjoy! There are also 365 different sorts of cheese, one for every day of the year, and about 450 AOC wines to choose from!