French Wine Place Name Game – Whites and Rosés by Ruth Paget
With the exception of Alsace, French wines are known by their place names, which give no information about the varietals (grapes) used to make it. A distinguished wine drinker in France in supposed to know from the place name what larger region the wine comes from and the varietals used to make the grapes.
In this game for French white wines, you will make index cards with the following information for each wine below and quiz yourself to do the following:
-Learn to pronounce the wine in French.
-Learn to spell the wine name
-Learn the larger region where the wine is produced
-Learn the varietals used to make the wine
-Learn if the wine is a white or a rosé
Use The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson to look up information. For Alsatian wine, Alsace can be both the place name and larger region.
--Alsace
-Sylvaner
-Riesling
-Muscat
-Traminer
-Gewurztraminer
-Pinot Gris
-Tokay
--Bordeaux
-Sauternes
-Barsac
-Cérons
-Graves
-Sainte-Croix-de-Mont
-Loupiac
-Premières Côtes de Bordeaux
-Entre-Deux-Mers
--Burgundy
-Chablis
-Meursault
-Puligny-Montrachet
-Chassagne-Montrachet
-Rully
-Mantagny
-Pouilly-Fuissé
--Côtes du Rhône
-Château-Grillet
-Condrieu
-Saint-Péray
-Tavel
-Lirac
--Jura
-Château-Chalon
-L’Etoile
-Arbois
-Poligny
--Languedoc-Roussillon
-Banyuls
-Côte d’Agly
-Maury
-Rivesaltes
-Frontignon
--Southwest
-Montbazillac
-Montravel
-Bergerac
-Jurançon
-Gaillac
-Banquette de Limoux
--Loire
-Saumur
-Coteaux du Layon
-Coteaux de l’Aubance
-Bourgeuil
-Chinon
-Vouvray
-Montlouis
-Muscadet
-Sancerre
-Pouilly-Fumé
-Cabernet
The vast majority of these wines are white, but researching them for information to make your index cards for quizzing helps make the information stick.
This is just the game to play before a visit to the Total Wine store is Seaside, California.
Happy Gaming!
By Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
