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For the French, wine is not an alcohol but a beverage. Like most beverages, it is generally consumed at mealtimes and like bread, it is so much a part of most meals that many French people would not enjoy eating without drinking a little wine. Given its importance and the wide variety of French wines to choose from, they have devised a few simple rules for serving wine:

• • White with fish, red with meat
• • White before red
• • Serve wines in ascending order (the best wine last)
• • Drink wines of a region with foods from that region
• • Drink reds at room temperature and whites chilled

Of course, the French being typically French, there are exceptions to every rule.

White with fish, red with meat

For the most part, this rule is respected, especially concerning beef and lamb. But there are important regional differences. In Alsace, for instance, white wine is served with both fish and meat. This is no doubt because the region produces very little red wine and because Alsatian whites go so well with pork and pork sausages that the famous Alsatian Choucroute (sauerkraut with an assortment of salted and smoked pork products) is never served with red wine but with an Alsatian white wine (or beer). The full-bodied whites of Burgundy can also be served with poultry and go surprisingly well with pâtés of all kinds. In the Jura the distinctive sherry-flavored "yellow wine" (vin jaune) may be served with poultry or fish, especially when cooked with cream and morel mushrooms from the nearby mountains. In Bordeaux, oysters on the half shell are eaten with grilled link sausages, a delightful combination with which the wine of choice is a white Graves. Conversely, it is also in Bordeaux that one encounters the unusual practice of serving red wine with fish, most specifically lamprey eel, which is cooked in a red wine sauce.

White before red

This is true so long as the wine is dry, the case for most of the white wine produced in France. Sweet white wines or champagne, on the other hand, can be served at the end of the meal. Admittedly, this practice is dying out and, these days, one is more likely to be served a glass of sweet sauternes with a slice of foie gras as a starter than with dessert, and champagne is a favorite apéritif throughout the country.

Serve wines in ascending order (the best wine last)

Exponents of this idea argue that if the best wine is served first, all that follow will disappoint. Those who question this approach point out that cheese and dessert come in last place, hence the best wine would always be served with one of them. The problem is an obvious one: great wines are not always at their best with cheese (dessert wines are rarely served these days). Though certain wines can be exquisite with specific cheeses (Alsatian Riesling with Munster, red Burgundy with a pungent époisses) certain subtleties in very fine wines can be lost if the cheese they are served with is too pungent. One solution is to follow a complex, mature wine that was served with the main dish with a young, full-bodied wine carefully chosen to enhance the taste of the cheeses. The wine in question is so different from the preceding one that the two cannot really be compared, leaving the impression of progressing from a delicate, suave taste to a "stronger" one.

Drink wines of a region with foods from that region

Although this rule applies marvelously well to the foods and wines of the lesser-known regions, oddly enough the great wine-producing regions—Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne—are not associated with a wide range of regional specialties. Though Burgundy is rich in natural resources, notably beef, too often any dish with a red wine sauce is (mistakenly) considered to be bourguignon. Few French people can name even one dish that is specifically associated with either Bordeaux or Champagne. This is not to say that they do not exist; they are simply unknown to the public outside the region. Bordeaux, for example, claims to produce some of the finest lamb in all of France (agneau de Pauillac) and every spring the Bordelais delight in grilling shad, fished in the Gironde estuary. Dishes one might encounter when traveling in Champagne often have no specific links to culinary traditions: add a splash of Champagne to virtually any dish and, voilà! you've made it champenois! The true specialties from that region are simple farmhouse food—poached salt pork and cabbage, tripe sausage, dandelion salad—hardly what one might accompany with a glass of vintage bubbly.

Reds at room temperature, whites chilled

This is perhaps one of the most misunderstood and frequently challenged practices in France. What exactly is "room temperature"? Essentially this means that wines should not appear to be cold when served. Too often, "room temperature" is interpreted to mean "warm," a terrible blunder. Though most of the best reds are still served "at room temperature" (60–63°F/16–17°C for Burgundies and 64–66°F/18°–19°C for Bordeaux) there is a growing tendency to serve young, fruity reds at "cellar temperature," cool but not cold (55°F/12°C). This is specifically the case of Beaujolais and the light reds from the Loire Valley.

Though white wines are generally brought to the table in an ice bucket, wine stewards in better restaurants often advise their clients to chill fine, full-bodied whites like those from Burgundy just long enough to bring them slightly below "cellar temperature" and feel cool to the tongue (about 48–50°F/9–10°C). Only young, very dry white wines, light rosés, or sparkling wines should be drunk truly cold.

One of the most dramatic exceptions to this rule concerns the famous "yellow wine" from the Jura. This is the only white wine made in France that is served at room temperature.

Wine and Pleasure

Ideally, a wine should enhance the food it is served with and vice versa. This is why wine is rarely served with salads unless they are made without vinegar because vinegar ruins the taste of wine. Most people are familiar with a few "perfect marriages" (oysters with muscadet, lamb with Bordeaux, Sauternes with foie gras) though several recent books have encouraged the exploration of more daring combinations like white wines with goat cheeses and pâtés, or light reds with certain fish like fresh grilled tuna or sardines. Nonetheless, the French have conservative tastes generally speaking, and are more likely to respect the rules given above then to break them (regional practices aside). Drinking wine is part of life, not an intellectual exercise, and what count most of all are the pleasures of the table—many French people could not imagine even a simple meal without a glass of wine.

Although wine, whatever its origin, is indispensable to a French meal, one should never conclude that the French are wine "experts." Most people are familiar with only a limited array of wines and do not anguish over making choices. On festive occasions, however, wine takes on central importance and much time might be spent selecting and orchestrating the serving of several wines. Foreign wines are still an oddity; indeed, those who live in wine-producing regions are often perfectly content to drink only wines from their area.

The French are more interested in enjoying their wines than in analyzing them. This is not to say that they do not pay attention when selecting wine, or that they are not attentive when wine is served. But they are more concerned with serving wines to enhance the pleasure of a meal than in anything else. This customarily implies personal discretion and moderation: getting drunk is considered antisocial and severely frowned upon.

See also Dinner; Etiquette and Eating Habits; Meal; Table Talk; Wine.

Mary Hyman Philip Hyman