Bastille Day & Claret

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran.  Last week was when the French celebrated their national holiday Bastille Day, which in 1789 marked the start of the French Revolution. So a friend of mine suggestion we have a glass of claret in celebration. It made me realize that many of us are not actually certain what the term claret signifies or how it relates to French wine. On today’s program I will explain.

Well the term claret is actually a British term used to describe red wine.  Red wine primarily from the Bordeaux region of France. The French do not commonly use the term to describe Bordeaux. This is why when my friend suggested we have a glass in celebration of Bastille Day, I realized he didn’t actually know how it was used or what it was. I mean, after all it sounds French and it does come from the French word Clairet. Claret was an unusually dark rose’ and the primary wine exported to Britain in the eighteenth century.  The word has become widely accepted to be synonymous with Bordeaux in Europe, but in my opinion I really think it is a term to use less rather than more. So if you wanted to somehow vicariously celebrate with the French do what we ended up doing and pop a bottle of Champagne! Remember to email your wine questions and suggestions to Linda at vine to wine dot net! Because you know, good times and good wines await us all, and thanks for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.