Once an American colleague asked us to bring him visiting the “wine country”. One of my French colleague then answered him “But you ARE already in the wine country!” Yes, France is a wine country as a whole. There are wine area everywhere (there are much more than Bordeaux in France!) As for the Toulousains, we appreciate especially the local wine: Fronton, Gaillac, Cahors, Juronçon,…these are all wine producing areas in the south-west of France – “vins de sud-ouest”
We always start a social gathering with an “aperitif”, where wine or other drinks are served with snacks, so people can chat freely and warm up the atmosphere. A good aperitif is therefore critical for a successful dinner party.
One of the aperitif wine that I’d like to highlight is Tariquet – premières grives. I dare say, 8 out of 10 time there is an aperitif, there is Tariquet. It’s a mildly sweet white wine from our region. It’s fruity, refreshing, it’s always served chilled. (It’s especially welcomed by women.)
It’s soon to be Christmas, where duck liver “foie gras” will be found on the tables in nearly all homes in France. It’d be a good idea to get a bottle of sweet white wine like Tariquet or Jurançon beforehand, to accompany the gourmandise…yum
French Cuisine Apprentice 