French Wine Regions

The Major French Wine Regions

Since there are nearly 20 official wine producing regions in France, it's best to start with the majors and then move on to the minors, relatively speaking, of course. There really are no "minor" wine producing regions in France, just smaller areas. When first learning about French wine, start with the larger, better known regions such as:

• Bordeaux
• Burgundy
• Champagne
• The Loire Valley
• The Rhone Valley
• Languedoc-Rousillon

The Bordeaux Region

Many consider Bordeaux as one of the most important wine producing regions in the world. It is home to nearly 10,000 wineries (chateaux) and 57 different appellations. Bordeaux ranks second in France to the Languedoc region as far as acres of land (approximately 300,000 acres) dedicated to wine grapes. This region is so large, it has six major categories of wine classification:

• The 1855 Classification
• The Graves Classification
• The Saint Emillion Classification
• The Medoc-Cru Bourgeois Classification
• The Cru Artisans Classification

Major Appellations in Bordeaux

The 57 smaller Appellations in Bordeaux fall into one of the six AOC's:

• Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieur
• Medoc and Graves
• Cotes-de-Bordeaux
• St. Emillion, Pomerol, Fronsac
• Dry white wines
• Sweet white wines

The Burgundy Wine Region

Burgundy is comprised of 60,000 acres of land dedicated to wine production and is located inland, toward the eastern border of France, about 140 miles west of Geneva, Switzerland. There are five major classifications of Burgundy wine:

• Grand Cru
• Premier Cru
• Village
• AOC Bourgogne

The Main Regions of Burgundy

There are five main regions in Burgundy:

• Chablis
• Cote-de-Nuits
• Cote-de-Beune
• Cote Chalonnaise
• Maconnais

The Champagne Region

Champagne is one of the best known wine regions in France and is about 100 miles northeast of Paris. The wine producing region covers around 80,000 acres, divided into five major regions:

• Aube
• Cotes de Blancs
• Cote de Sezanne
• Montagne de Reims
• Vallee de la Marne

The three main grapes grown in this region to produce Champagne are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

The wines produced in this region are governed by the Comite Interprofessional du vin de Champagne (CIVC) and not the AOC. Therefore, Champagne bottle labels do not have to adhere to AOC regulations.

The Loire Valley

Nestled along the Loire river, this wine producing region is the third largest in France. The Loire Valley is the largest producer of white wine in the country and second largest producer of sparkling wine (Champagne is first of course). This large region has approximately 125,000 acres of land "under vines" with 87 AOC's.

Types of Wine from Loire

Here are the major types of wine that come from the Loire Valley:

• Muscadet
• Sancerre
• Vouvray
• Pouilly-Fume

The Rhone Valley

This wine producing region is in the south of France in the Rhone river valley. The Rhone Valley is divided into the two major sub-regions of Northern and Southern Rhone.

Northern Rhone

The major appellations in Northern Rhone are:

• Cote Rotie
• Condrieu
• Crozes-Hermitage
• Hermitage

Southern Rhone

The major appellations in Southern Rhone are:

• Chateauneuf du Pape
• Gigondas
• Vacqueyras

Languedoc-Rousillon

This wine region is located on the Gulf of Lion in the Mediterranean Sea and is the largest wine producing region in France with an estimated 600,000 acres "under vines." The seven major Languedoc appellations:

• Corbieres
• Chateaux du Languedoc
• Cotes du Roussillon
• Fitou
• Minervois
• Saint Chinian
• Costieres de Nimes

There are five major Rousillon appellations:

• Cotes du Roussillon
• Cotes du Roussillon Villages
• Maury
• Banyuls

Just an Overview

The French wine regions described here are just an overview to give you the basics of the regions. To give an in depth account of each individual area that produces wine in France would be too long and too overwhelming, but knowing the basics of each major wine region is a good place to start.