Wines and beers in Calais

Calais Vins wine warehouse outside central Calais.	Calais Wine wine warehouse outside central Calais.
Intercaves near the harbour is a genuine French cave.	La Maison Du Fromage cheese and wine shop in the Centre of town.

Don't store wines unless they are worth saving, not all wines improve with age. Most wines however benefit from being allowed to breathe for half an hour, especially the cheaper ones. "Vin Ordinaire" means ordinary wine, "Vin de table" means table wine, "Vin de Pays" means regional wine. Good quality wines have a region and a year.

French wines and their regions: French wine tours Wine guide

Alsace

In the Alsace, contrary to other wine regions, it is the grape variety that decides the name on the label.

Bordeaux Britain became an armed maritime nation protecting wine cargoes travelling from the Bordeaux region, from pirates off the coast of Brittany.

Burgundy

Burgandy is the home of the classic chardonnay.

Champagne

The most northerly vineyards in France, the champagne region covers the departments of the Marne, The Aisne, the Aube.

Gamay The only grape allowed in Beaujolais is the Gamay.

Mont Ventoux

You can buy Mont ventoux wines at the end of a hair raising drive up the mountain, the view makes it all worthwhile.

Muscadet Sèvre et Maine

Muscadet is produced in 4 wine terroirs around the city of Nantes. The Muscadet Sèvre et Maine is the most important and the best.

The Rhone Valley The Rhone Valley has always been the ideal route between the Mediterranean and northern Europe, and produces good quality, good value wines.

Sancerre Sancerre, the classic wine bar white wine, is across the river Loire from Pouilly.

Vacqueyras Vacqueyras is a small village not far from chateauneuf du pape. Vacqueyras has a co-operative. This means that the farmers deliver their grapes to the depot where it is assessed and graded. They are paid according to the assessment. You can buy from the co-operative.

New world wines

Argentina

The desire to increase exports fueled significant advances in quality. Argentine is now the second largest wine exporter in South America behind Chile.

Australia

Australia's first vineyards were planted in 1788 in a small area near the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

California Spanish missionaries introduced winemaking to California from Mexico.

Chile With French vines and expertise, matched to Chile's excellent natural conditions, the country's wine industry has made a tremendous leap in quality.

South Africa

Constantia is the Historical region that's tucked away in the smart southern suburbs of Cape Town where the first vineyards were planted in South Africa.

Lebanon

Lebanon is one of the oldest sites of wine production in the world. French influence on the country is apparent in the grape varieties most commonly planted: Cinsaut, Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Mourvedre, Grenache and Syrah.

New Zealand

For a New Zealand grape wine to be eligible for export, it must meet the requirements of the New Zealand Wine Act 2003,

Europe

Germany

Each of Germany’s 13 winegrowing regions has a slightly different climatic and geological makeup.

Italy

Italy produces  and exports more than any other country.

Portugal

Most Portuguese wines reach a good average standard but they are seldom comparable with the fine wines of either France or Germany.

Spain

Rioja received D.O.C.A. status.