Map of Wine Regions in France
French Wine Regions
| Wine region | Wine style | Main grape varieties | Closest cities |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Loire Valley | white red sparkling | Sauvignon Blanc Chenin Blanc Muscadet Cabernet Franc Gamay | Tours Nantes Paris |
| Alsace | white sparkling | Riesling Gewurztraminer Pinot Gris Muscat | Strasbourg Mullhause |
| Champagne | sparkling | Chardonnay Pinot Noir Meunier | Reims Paris Troyes |
| Southern France | red white | Grenache Syrah Carignan Cinsault Mourvedre Chardonnay Sauvignon Blanc Viognier | Montpellier Perpignan |
| Provence | rose red white | Grenache Cinsault Syrah Mourvèdre Tibouren Grenache Blanc Clairette Blanche Vermentino Bourboulenc Roussanne Marsanne Ugni Blanc Viognier | Marseille Aix-en-Provence Avignon Toulon |
| Beaujolais | red | Gamay | Lyon Macon |
| The Rhone Valley | red white | Syrah Grenache Mourvedre Viognier Marsanne Roussanne | Lyon Avignon Valence |
| Bordeaux | red white rose sparkling | Merlot Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Sauvignon Blanc Semillon | Bordeaux Biarritz Paris San Sebastien |
| Burgundy | red white | Pinot Noir Chardonnay | Beaune Dijon Macon Paris |
Wine Tours in France
France produced 43.9 million hectoliters of wine in 2020, which equals to approximately 6.5 billion bottles. Source: OIV
Bordeaux produces close to 1B bottles of wine per year.
Many factors are affecting the price of French wine: difficult growing traditions, prestige, rigorous selection of grapes, etc.
Read my article on Why is Bordeaux Wine So Famous and Expensive? for more reasons to pay the price for a bottle of excellent French wine.
Appellation of Protected Origin (L’Appellation d’origine protégée) (AOP) indicates a product that was made in a particular European region using recognized local production methods.
L’Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) refers to products made specifically in France.
The concept was first created in the early 20th century to protect producers from fraud. In 1935, a decree of was pronounced to protect wine-makers.
The system of appellations is governed in France by INAO (Institut National del’ Origin et de la Qualite) which guarantees that wine was produced using permitted grape varieties, agricultural methods, production technologies, even bottling and labelling are regulated.
Some of the most famous protected appellations in French wine are Bordeaux, Champagne, and Cognac.
Hi, my name is Polina. I am a sommelier and a wine tour guide in Bordeaux, France.
I travel for wine in Europe, collecting the best wineries to visit, places to stay and eat.