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Claret is a name primarily used in British English for red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.

Contents 1 Usage 2 Pronunciation 3 History 4 References

[edit] Usage

Claret derives from the French clairet, ^[1] a now uncommon dark rosé and the most common wine exported from Bordeaux until the 18th century. It is a protected name within the European Union, describing a red Bordeaux wine, accepted after the British wine trade demonstrated over 300 years' usage of the term.^[1]

Claret is occasionally used in the United States as a semi-generic label for red wine in the style of the Bordeaux, ideally of varietals authentic to the region. The French themselves do not use the term, except for export purposes.

The colour "claret" resembles the red hue of Bordeaux wine. It has become a slang term for blood, as in "tapping the claret" meaning giving someone a bloody nose.

[edit] Pronunciation

Claret is traditionally pronounced /ˈklærɨt/ KLARR-ət. However, since the term is commonly misbelieved to be a French word, it is often mispronounced /klæˈreɪ/ kla-ray.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

The standard style of Bordeaux wine has not always been deep red. It used to be closer to a rosé, hence the French clairet, meaning pale. The Plantagenet kingdom, covering England and much of France from 1152 to 1453, encouraged wine trade between the regions. As the taste for clairet developed in England "claret" was adopted to describe it.

In the Late Middle Ages, a claret meant a spiced wine-based drink produced by pouring wine, usually a red, over a bag containing a mix of spices. It was similar, and often identical, to hypocras. Spices that were specific to medieval clarets include anise, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon and fennel. The term now more frequently applies to unspiced red Bordeaux wine.

The meaning of "claret" has changed over time to refer to a dry, dark red Bordeaux.^[1]

[edit] References