France

Although New World regions such as California are recently challenging the French wine industry, France is still considered the best region in the world to find excellent wines with great finesse and elegance. The records kept by Christian monks have enabled the French to continue to make the quality wine they perfected over centuries of work. The major wine areas of France include Burgundy, Bordeaux, Alsace, the Rhone Valley, Champagne and the Loire Valley.

France divides its vintages into table wines, country wines, and Appellation Controlled Wines. Table wine (Vin de Table) is the everyday drinking wine of the French. It is a blend of grapes from various wine-producing regions, and is ready to be consumed when purchased.

More sophisticated than table wine, country wines are produced from the grapes of one region only, and are governed by regulations that control production and accreditation.

Appellation Controlled Wines (AOC) are considered to be the highest quality wine. AOC wine is subject to rigorous controls governing every aspect of winemaking, including the size of the vineyard, production levels and where grapes may be grown. Most appellations are named for the place where they are grown, which may be a region (like Bordeaux or Burgundy), a district within the region, or even a single château. The more specific the appellation, the more restrictive the controls and the more prestigious the wine.

Vineyards in this area