Claret
a name originally given to wines of a light-red color, but now applied to the red wines imported from France, chiefly from Bordeaux. These wines vary in composition according to the locality, season, and age, but the produce of each vineyard usually retains its own peculiar characteristics. The most esteemed are those produced at the vineyards of Lafitte, Latour, Château Margaux, and others. Many of the clarets formerly sold in the United States were nothing more than the vin ordinaire used by the French peasants and working classes, but the development of the California grape industry made it possible to obtain as good domestic claret here as anywhere. a