WINE REGIONS OF THE WORLD

France

Once the world's leading wine-producing nations

, France lost claim to that title when Italy increased its annual production to 2 billion gallons a few years back. Although New World regions such as California are recently presenting a challenge to the French wine industry, France is still considered the best region in the world to find excellent wines. 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 in France include

Burgundy, Bordeaux, Alsace, the Rhone Valley, Champagne and the Loire Valley. The country is also famous for champagne, named for the region east of Paris where it was accidentally “discovered” by Dom Perignon, a monk making wine for his colleagues. Many countries produce sparkling wines according to the French method – those wines are labeled “Méthode Champenoise” – but only those produced in the Champagne region can be truly labeled “champagne.”

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.

Country wine (Vin de Pays)

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)

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.