France

and its major Wine Producing Areas

An Introduction to France

For many years, France has been seen as being at the forefront of wine production. It supplies wines of various styles for almost every conceivable use. Bordeaux is the best known fine wine region in the world, producing millions of cases of wine every year. Champagne is THE wine for celebrations. Burgundy at its best produces some of the silkiest wines in the world, and the Rhone Valley some of the sturdiest. However, recently its position has come under challenge from many New World countries seeking to imitate and improve upon the top wines produced.

Many French wine producers will say that their success is due to 'terroir' - a complicated combination of soil type, temperature, shelter and weather. In fact, these things are important to any wine producing country, but in France the terroir can vary immensely from one vineyard to another. Therefore, grape varieties are planted carefully according to where they are best suited. French wine law dictates which grape types are allowed to be grown in any specific area. Whilst this inhibits experimentation, it allows unfashionable grape types to survive instead of being replaced.

France also has one of the most complicated systems in the world for classifying its wines, also known as appellation systems. These vary from region to region, some terms even being used with different meanings from one region to another. It is therefore very difficult to give an entire overview of France without studying the individual regions.

Any buyer of French wine should beware - not only does France produce some of the world's best wine, it can also produce some of its lousiest. Therefore take great care when purchasing.

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