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Grand cru (food and drink)

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The Trappist Chimay Brewery's Grand Cru cheese

The term grand cru is used in a non-official context in the names of some products, particularly beer, chocolate, whiskey and cognac, to denote a high-quality product. While the term grand cru is well defined with respect to vineyards, its use with respect to other products is unregulated.

Chocolate

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In the 1980s, French chocolatiers responded to rising global competition by creating a new marketing message aiming to promote the "genuineness" of French chocolate. Some of the terms they used in this marketing included "vintage" and "grand cru".[1] The grand cru designation signifies that the beans in a bar all come from a certain country or region.[2]

Since the introduction of the grand cru, a new classification has arisen, that of the premier cru, which designates that the cocoa in a bar is sourced from a specific area, such as a plantation, within a country or region. A premier cru chocolate is typically considered to be of higher quality than a grand cru. This contrasts with the corresponding use of the terms in the wine market, where a grand cru wine is esteemed more highly than a premier cru.[2]

Beer

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This term has been used for beers, especially in Belgium, to indicate a more elaborate version of a brand.[3] InBev produces a more complex version of Hoegaarden called Hoegaarden Grand Cru,[3] while the Rodenbach Brewery produces a Rodenbach Grand Cru.[4] Lindemans Brewery make a gueuze and a kriek beer under the name Cuvée René Grand Cru.[5]

Many breweries in the United States have also begun producing beers labeled "Grand Cru" to denote a limited production of a special or higher quality beer.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ James L. Watson, Melissa L. Caldwell The cultural politics of food and eating page 145
  2. ^ a b "Gourmet Chocolate". The Food Buster. Archived from the original on 2012-11-28. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  3. ^ a b Jackson, Michael (June 6, 1992). "Europe's stylish summer whites". The Independent. Republished online in 1997 by Michael Jackson & Real Beer Inc. Retrieved January 9, 2018 – via beerhunter.com.
  4. ^ Jackson, Michael. "Rodenbach juggles its tuns". beerhunter.com. Michael Jackson & Real Beer Inc. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  5. ^ "Cuvée René". lindemans.be (in French). Belgium: Lindemans Brewery. Archived from the original on 2013-09-29.