• With the number of appellations in France too numerous to mention here, they are easily defined into one of the main wine producing regions listed below: Alsace[edit] Alsace
  is primarily a white-wine region, though some red, rosé, sparkling and sweet wines are also produced.

• Sometimes that will simply be the wider region where the wine was made, but some labels, especially for higher quality wines, will also include details of the individual village
  or commune, and even the specific vineyard where the wine was sourced.

• As a minimum, labels will usually state that classification, as well as the name of the producer, and, for wines above the Vin De Table level, will also include the geographical
  area where the wine was made.

• [12] Since French appellation rules generally restrict wines from each region, district or appellation to a small number of allowed grape varieties, there are in principle
  no varieties that are commonly planted throughout all of France.

• Since New World wines made the names of individual grape varieties familiar to international consumers in the late 20th century, more French wineries started to use varietal
  labelling.

• Labels will also indicate where the wine was bottled, which can be an indication as to the quality level of the wine, and whether it was bottled by a single producer, or more
  anonymously and in larger quantities: • “Mis en bouteille …”[22] o “… au château, au domaine, à la propriété”: these have a similar meaning, and indicate the wine was “estate bottled”, on the same property on which it was grown or at a
  cooperative (within the boundary of the appellation) of which that property is a member.

• So-called “wine lake”, Languedoc-Roussillon is also the home of some innovative producers who combine traditional French wine like blanquette de Limoux, the world’s oldest
  sparkling wine, and international styles while using lessons from the New World.

• French law divides wine into four categories, two falling under the European Union Table Wine category and two the Quality Wines Produced in Specified Regions (QWPSR) designation.

• The wines produced range from expensive wines sold internationally to modest wines usually only seen within France such as the Margnat wines were during the post war period.

• It has nine AOC regions and an island-wide vin de pays designation and is still developing its production methods as well as its regional style.

• Bordeaux[edit] Pauillac is home to three of the five Bordeaux’s first growth wines (classification of 1855) Bordeaux is a large region on the Atlantic coast, which has a long
  history of exporting its wines overseas.

• [21] Labelling practices The amount of information included on French wine labels varies depending on which region the wine was made in, and what level of classification the
  wine carries.

• France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and American wine-producing regions.

• It is perhaps the warmest wine region of France and produces mainly rosé and red wine.

• It is situated in eastern France on the river Ill and borders Germany, a country with which it shares many grape varieties as well as a long tradition of varietal labelling.

• “Beaujolais Nouveau” is the only wine that can be legally consumed in the year of its production (Third week end of November) • Chablis, halfway between Côte d’Or and Paris,
  where white wines are produced on chalky soil giving a more crisp and steely style than the rest of Burgundy.

• Wine has been around for thousands of years in the countries on the Mediterranean but France has made it a part of their civilization and has considered wine-making as art
  for over two thousand years.

• Even in the same area, no two vineyards have exactly the same terroir, thus being the base of the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system that has been a model for appellation
  and wine laws across the globe.

• In order to maintain a distinction from Vin de Table, the producers have to submit the wine for analysis and tasting, and the wines have to be made from certain varieties
  or blends.

• If a chateau or domaine is named, it may well not exist as a real vineyard, and the wine may be an assemblage from the grapes or the wines of several producers.

• Two concepts central to the better French wines are the notion of terroir, which links the style of the wines to the locations where the grapes are grown and the wine is made,
  and the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system, replaced by the Appellation d’Origine Protégée (AOP) system in 2012.

• The new categories are:[15] • Vin de France, a table wine category basically replacing Vin de Table, but allowing grape variety and vintage to be indicated on the label.

• o “… dans la région de production”: the wine was not bottled at the vineyard but by a larger business at its warehouse; this warehouse was within the same winemaking region
  of France as the appellation, but not necessarily within the boundary of the appellation itself.

• The result has been a continuing wine glut, often called the wine lake.

• In fact, most of the so-called “international varieties” are of French origin, or became known and spread because of their cultivation in France.

• Before long, the wines produced in Gaul were popular all around the world.

• Savoy[edit] Savoy or Savoie, primarily a white-wine region in the Alps close to Switzerland, where many grapes unique to this region are cultivated.

• Although some producers have benefited in recent years from rising prices and increased demand for some of the prestige wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux, the French wine industry
  has seen a decline in domestic consumption and internationally, it has had to compete with many New World wines.

• In many respects, French wines have more of a regional than a national identity, as evidenced by different grape varieties, production methods and different classification
  systems in the various regions.

• With the exception of wines from the Alsace region, France had no tradition of labelling wines with details of the grape varieties used.

• [25] Languedoc-Roussillon[edit] Languedoc-Roussillon is the largest region in terms of vineyard surface and production, hence the region in which much of France’s cheap bulk
  wines have been produced.

• An exception is French fortified wines, which tend to be relatively unknown outside France.

• • “Vigneron indépendant” is a special mark adopted by some independent wine-makers, to distinguish them from larger corporate winemaking operations and symbolize a return
  to the basics of the craft of wine-making.

• However, wine consumption has been dropping in France for 40 years.

• [16] Since the French tradition is to serve wine with food, wines have seldom been developed or styled as “bar wines” for drinking on their own, or to impress in tastings
  when young.

• The styles and varietal composition of northern and southern Rhône differ, but both parts compete with Bordeaux as traditional producers of red wines.

• France has one of the oldest systems for protected designation of origin for wine in the world and strict laws concerning winemaking and production and many European systems
  are modeled after it.

• • Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC, 53.4%) – Wine from a particular area with many other restrictions, including grape varieties and winemaking methods.

• White wines are also sometimes made from Aligoté, and other grape varieties will also be found occasionally.

• They would not be allowed to display any appellation name or even region of origin.)

• Champagne[edit] Champagne, situated in northeastern France, close to Belgium and Luxembourg, is the coldest of France’s major wine regions and home to its major sparkling
  wine.

• o “… par …” the wine was bottled by the concern whose name follows.

• [1][2] French wine traces its history to the 6th century BC, with many of France’s regions dating their wine-making history to Roman times.

• Wine regions of France[edit] Map of the principal wine regions in France The recognized wine producing areas in France are regulated by the Institut National des Appellations
  d’Origine – INAO in acronym.

• Every appellation in France is defined by INAO, in regards to the individual regions particular wine “character”.

• A small amount of still wine is produced in Champagne using (as AOC Coteaux Champenois) of which some can be red wine.

• 40 villages of Picardy (south of the Aisne department) are now part of the Champagne area and several small recreational vineyards were established in the last two decades
  e.g.

• Probably more terroir-conscious than any other region, Burgundy is divided into the largest number of appellations of any French region.

• Some areas produce primarily red wines in a style reminiscent of red Bordeaux, while other produce dry or sweet white wines.

• (If such wines were produced, they would have to be declassified to Vin de Pays or French table wine.

• If varietal names are displayed, common EU rules apply:[23] • If a single varietal name is used, the wine must be made from a minimum of 85% of this variety.

• The region covers six appellations and is related to Burgundy through its extensive use of the Burgundian grapes Chardonnay and Pinot noir, though other varieties are used.

• [26] Some Provence wine can be compared with the Southern Rhône wines as they share both grapes and, to some degree, style and climate.

• In general, varietal labelling is most common for the Vin de Pays category, although some AOC wines now also display varietal names.

 

Works Cited

[‘1. “Production quantities by country (tonnes) in 2011”. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Retrieved 26 May 2021. 1. France 5,106,751 – 2. Italy 4,063,165 – 3. Spain 3,370,910
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2014.
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H. Alcohol, Culture, and Society. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1952, pp. 26–27.
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market: the determinants of French wine exports, 1848–1938”. The Economic History Review. 73 (3): 703–729. doi:10.1111/ehr.12878. ISSN 1468-0289. S2CID 199360879.
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Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/joybot/6299498346/’]