Why are French wines named after the region and not the grape?
Wines in France – really in almost all of Europe – had developed their styles over the centuries; a grape (more often a blend of grapes) was eventually found to suit an area – or even better, express the area. To know where the grapes are grown is to know the style of the wine. To know much about the grapes themselves was wine geekdom, only necessary for professionals. However, in the 50s and 60s California introduced a “what?” approach to contrast with France’s “where.” Frank Schoonmaker, making wine for Almaden, began putting the grape names on the bottle to help consumers, since we didn’t know what Napa, Russian River Valley, or Paso Robles tasted like. The varietal name could stand in and give the wine buyer some idea what the wine would taste like. Grapes are the new thing.
