Wine is almost synonymous with France and for good reasons. The French have been making wine since the 6th century BC, and today France remains one of the top wine producers, with wines of every style and quality level coming from hundreds of unique appellations across the country. If you’re looking for high-quality wines, you can’t go wrong with a bottle from France.
On Monday evening, the French Ambassador to Kenya, H.E Amb Arnaud Suquet on behalf of the French embassy and Business France, a French national agency that aims to help international growth of French companies and promote international investments in France, hosted a wine and cognac tasting event dubbed Tastin’ France. The well attended event at the residence of the France Ambassador to Kenya, saw diplomats, members of the fourth estate, celebrities and business men and women enjoy some of the finest wines, bubbles and cognac on display by leading French wine makers who were visiting the country.
Tastin’ France is a professional tasting of wines and spirits produced in France that is organized by Business France, the Trade and Investment office of the French Embassy. This is an annual event held in various countries and it seeks to open up the French wines and spirits market to the world. Tastin’ France seeks to give wine and spirits producers a platform to meet various stakeholders in the wine and spirits industry so as to explore opportunities for partnership in imports and distribution of their products. Once again Tastin’ France makes a stopover in Kenya and will feature twenty-six main producers of different brands showcasing over 200 different wines, spirits, and champagnes.
It is no secret that France is home to some of the best wines in the world. Many say the climate in France is ideal for growing grapes, a temperate climate with long, hot summers and cool, damp winters that in turn prvides the vines with the perfect conditions to produce high-quality grapes.
The country also has a variety of different soil types, that allows for a greater range of grape varietals to be grown, each with its own unique flavor profile. When it comes to taking good care of the wines produced, the French have the best skills. They take great care in storing and serving their wines- they have them in cellars, where they age gracefully.
According to various reports, the French Vineyards represent an area of 900,000 hectares spread over 25,000 wine-making communities. This represents 13 wine-making regions: Alsace, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Bourgogne, Champagne, Provence-Corse, Jura, Languedoc-Roussillon, Lorraine, Loire, Rhône, Savoie-Bugey and Sud-Ouest. These regions correspond to 16 great vineyards: Alsace, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Bourgogne, Bugey, Champagne, Corse, Jura, Languedoc, Lorraine, Loire, Provence, Roussillon, Rhône, Savoie et Sud-Ouest.
France gets about 10 million wine tourists every year, a real vote of confidence in the sector.
