French wine labels can look like a smug little puzzle designed by geography professors with a superiority complex. So in this video, I’ll show you how to read French wine labels properly — without panic, guesswork, or supermarket despair.
We’ll cover how French wine labels work, what AOP, AOC, IGP and Vin de France actually mean, how to spot the region, producer, vintage and sweetness level, and how to use grape varieties as anchors when the bottle seems to be describing a hillside having an existential crisis.
You’ll also learn the key differences between Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, the Loire, the Rhône, Alsace, Provence and the Languedoc, plus useful label terms like:
mis en bouteille au domaine
élevé en fûts de chêne
sur lie
non filtré
sec, demi-sec, moelleux, liquoreux
Crémant vs Champagne
vintage vs non-vintage
So whether you live in France, are moving to France, love French wine, or just want to stop staring helplessly at the wine aisle like a traumatised hedgehog, this should help.
If you’ve ever wondered how to understand French wine labels, how to choose French wine more confidently, or what all those French wine terms actually mean, this video is for you.
In this video:
French wine labels explained
How to read French wine labels
French wine regions explained
French wine terms for beginners
How to choose French wine in a supermarket
AOP vs IGP vs Vin de France
Champagne vs Crémant
French red wine and white wine basics
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#frenchwine #livinginfrance #france
22 Comments
If you wish to support my channel, here are your options:
PATREON: https://patreon.com/c/JohnnyBenoit
BUY ME A COFFEE: https://buymeacoffee.com/johnny_benoit
For your CURRENCY EXCHANGE needs, use my link (affiliate):
https://onboarding.paydirect.io/forex_transfers/forms/individual?affiliate_code=johnnybenoit
MY FRENCH BOOKS (I'm a writer):
On Amazon US: https://shorturl.at/4AZXm
On Amazon UK: https://shorturl.at/iM31J
On Amazon France: https://shorturl.at/bpHem
On Amazon Spain: https://shorturl.at/n8uii
On Amazon Germany: https://shorturl.at/yyaQl
on Amazon Canada: https://tinyurl.com/52bke5zx
Enquiries: johnny.benoit@hotmail.com
What’s the best bottle you’ve ever bought simply because the label looked fancy? Let’s confess in the comment.
Thirty years ago I ordered a large brandy in the American bar of The Savoy Hotel in London because the label looked nice. I knocked it back and then looked at the bill. £375.
Excellent and entertaining as always with your videos!
J'aime vos vidéos! I love the mental imagery of sipping an 'aged argument'. Thank you for (once again) making my day! I love red wine… I always have. I love eating chocolate and drinking a Bordeaux red wine while listening to beautiful music and staring out over the garden. Wine is so synonymous with France – places are wines! And I love wine tasting and acting all 'aristocratic' and guessing the tastes and smells. Having paired food with the right wine always made me feel a bit smarter somehow – like knowing what is proper and belongs together also made me belong to history and beauty and friendship! Wishing you a wonderful week, my dear Johnny ❤
And if you buy a ticket for the Duesseldorf wine fair, the world’s largest , you can taste them all. 😂👍🤓 And the other wines from Australia to Chile, from Germany to South Africa too.
And don’t forget to take a taxi afterwards. The police are checking the roads.😂
Excellent video as usual Johnny👌🏼 My self and my French wife are big fans of Crémant, especially Bourgogne, as we find 3 or even 4 bottles for the price of one bottle of ‘decent l’ champagne… very good value indeed, and are hard pressed to tell the difference between the two ( though we’re not talking Dom Perignon quality here 😉) …here’s a question … why is champagne cheaper in the UK than in France ?!🤔
Great video and very helpful. I'm intimidated so I go to shops like Nicolas. They are generally knowledgeable and helpful. I start with bonjour. They ask me what food im serving or the purpose. They recommend several options of different costs. Ive never been disappointed by their recommendation.
Crémant for me Johnny. Merci !
I spent years as an amateur learning about wines, not just from France but from many other countries as well. I've never encountered such a charming explanation of the principal French varieties – a great "beginner's guide." Merci Johnny pour toutes tes vidéos divertissantes et ton humour pince-sans-rire.
This was great! I hope I can remember about a tenth of it!
Great explanations and coverage of the French wine market, Johnny! Along the lines of place names, any chance we could get you to label the scenes you're showing? I imagine it would be a lot of extra work, but I would love to know where some of the images are located.
My sister will LOVE THIS…. her perfect Christmas is a case of wines! ♥
Oh thank goodness! I'll be in France for 3 months and there will be lots of wine. So so helpful.
Thanks Johnny, another of France’s great mysteries decoded. And yet still not really understood.😀
I love your information and presentation. I feel confident I could make a good choice via the label. Alas you did not mention Malbec! How shall I envision myself drinking it in Cahors without your information?
Beautiful video. But I’m still stunned in isle 7 of this video. I need to rewatch so the grocery store at my next visit isn’t solely based on who’s got the prettiest label 😂. Thank you ❤
I was waiting for my favorite – Muscadet-Sèvre et Maine! So darn good!
Ahh yes, knowledge of wines, step one toward looking down upon the peasants! 😀
I will have to rewatch this just to work on my pronounciation!
Excellent demystification, but I have a question: What do you mean by "structured"?
Understanding French wines takes years of practice and dedication. We have a big Christmas moose made of chicken wire more than half way filled with French wine corks, from different regions of France. We always say that this animal is the testament of where our boys inheritance went.😂😂😂 It's incredible hard to determine your favorite region but the understanding by now is there. Mouthwatering guide, thank you and may God bless you all with time and desire to enjoy French wines!