Apéritifs, from the Latin aperiere “to open,” are served before the meal and are designed to stimulate the appetite and prepare the palate for the pleasure of the meal. They are typically lower in alcohol and are usually light, refreshing, and dry; sometimes they run more savory and bitter.
Banyuls
Fortified dessert wine, made in similar production method to Port. Typically red, however occasionally made from white varieties such as Grenache Blanc or Grenache Gris.
Dubonnet
Kir
Lillet
Muscat
Sweet, fortified wine. Languedoc-Roussillon boasts a number of excellent Muscat wines.
Pastis and Pernod
Pernod, Ricard, and Pastis – anise based drinks that tend to be potent and assertive. Pastis is an anise-flavored liqueur that was commercially pioneered by Paul Ricard.
Pineau
A fortified wine, typically composed of Cognac eau-de-vie and fermented grape must. In some areas of France it’s made by combining brandy and apple juice.
Vermouth
Fortified wine flavored with various botanicals such as roots, bark, flowers, seeds, herbs, or spices. Noilly Prat, from Languedoc-Roussillon, is a dry vermouth, produced in Marseillan, a region south of Montpellier, that is often used in dry Martinis or Negronis.
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