What French wine classification terms should I know?

What French wine classification terms should I know?

Dennis Overstreet (Wine Expert) gives expert video advice on: What is Appellation of Origin?; Why is Champagne an Appellation of Origin?; What French wine classification terms should I know? and more...

A Cuvée is a term which means "the blend." The Cuvée is, "I'm going to use Chardonnay and add a little Vigny in it," that's a Cuvée. A Cabernet and a little Cabernet Franc is a Cuvée. This is that, "We decided to start a winery and we wanted to blend some different things," that's the Cuvee. When it comes to a pedigree it's sort of a Grand Cru, a Premier Grand Cru, or just a Premier Cru. These are classes of wines. It's sort of like when we went through school or we became part of society, there was the A group that we kind of referred to in Hollywood, there was the B group, and there was the C group. They are all important groups and they can intermix but the A group really made a party happen. So, a Grand Cru is the very top of the French wine category. These are the Lafite Rothschilds, the Mouton Rothschilds. They are the Richebourgs, the Liesses. These are Grand Crus. The Premier Cru is the step down, and it's just A, B, C.