Like cuisine, French drinks are so diverse that gastronomic tours around the country with visits to local wineries are becoming an increasingly popular form of travel. In the Old World, France has invariably occupied the highest step of the podium in terms of both the number of gourmets and the ability to satisfy their exquisite whims.
Alcohol of France
The customs law states that the import of alcohol into the country is regulated by a liter of strong alcohol and two liters of wine. However, the idea of bringing alcoholic beverages to the homeland of Dumas and the Musketeers is unlikely to occur to a person who is at least a little familiar with history and geography. There are hundreds of wineries in France, and the drinks produced here are famous all over the world. Alcohol prices in France depend on the type of product, its brand and aging, but their variety allows each guest to find a brand according to their own abilities.
National drink of France
The French have reached considerable heights in the preparation of wines, brandy, champagne and cider, and it is not at all easy to single out the national drink of France among such an abundance. Calvados, an apple brandy made from cider in Lower Normandy, can rightfully claim its role. Calvados is a typically French product, and the first distillation of cider began in the 16th century.
For the production of apple brandy, small fruits are used, but with a strong aroma, and it is allowed to mix varieties only subject to certain requirements. Distillation of cider gives a colorless product, which is placed in oak barrels and gets in them not only the famous aroma, but also a rich color. All French Calvados is labeled depending on the aging period of its alcohols:
- Trois pommes or Fine is aged in oak containers for at least two years.
- Vieux-Reserve is aged for three years or more.
- Vieille Reserve or VSOP has been absorbing oak scents for four years.
- Age Inconnu or Extra Old has been waiting in the wings for at least six years.
- Age 15 ans is one of the most expensive drinks, aged 15 years.
- Vintage varieties, a bottle of each of which is of real value for gourmets and collectors alike.
Alcoholic drinks of France
And also the alcoholic drinks of France are its excellent wines, which are made from local grapes. The climatic conditions of the country allow growing a variety of grape varieties, and therefore fans of dry wines and lovers of dessert and sweet wines will find a drink here to their liking.
