While I certainly enjoy drinking French wine, I am by no means an expert on the various vineyards; nor is my palette sophisticated enough to be able to tell you exactly what hints of what you are tasting in that glass of rich red Bordeaux or in the crisp Loire Valley white. That being said, I do have an understanding on the various French wine regions and what kinds of wine come from which appellations (not sure what an appellation is? Read more about French Wine: Understanding the 4 Categories).
As France is the country where wine making and viticulture first was refined and the French defined many different types of wine production, regions of France are now just as synonymous with what wines come from there as what the scenery is like. For centuries, France has been the holy land of wine–it is THE birthplace of modern wine making and serves as a model for wine production internationally. France produces between 7 and 8 billion bottles per year and has the second largest total vineyard area in the entire world (despite being a country that is only the size of Texas).
Learn more about French Wine:
Before you head to France you may be interested in learning more about which wines and what kinds of wines come from which regions in France. Here is a complete guide on the wine producing regions of France.
Loire Valley
While this valley west of Paris has long been known as the former stomping grounds of French Kings and where you will find the many beautiful and impressive Castles of the Loire, the Loire Valley is also France’s third largest wine producing region and is known for its sparkling wines (it’s France’s second largest region for sparkling wine after Champagne) and for its lighter reds.
The Loire Valley produces all varieties of wines and is known for their freshness, and food friendliness.
Whites
Loire Valley white wines are perfect spring and summer wines, as their fruity aromas and acidity make they light than heavily oaked wines and are perfect for summer weather.
Rosés
The slightly sweet, pink hued Roses that come from the Loire are also known as a perfect summer wine and have a refreshing flavor. Rosés pair especially well with Asian cuisine and can be the perfect pre-dinner aperitif.
Reds
Loire Valley red can be either lighter or full-bodied, but they do have a reputation as being a generally smoother, lighter red than those from Burgundy or Bordeaux. The lighter ones can be served chilled at a summer barbecue, and the fuller bodied are excellent for autumn, or as a slightly lighter alternative to more traditional winter wines.
Sparkling (fines bulles)
Because Champagne only comes from Champagne, the sparkling wine from the Loire Valley is called fines bulles. However, the Loire Valley does produce some great sparkling wines that tend to be on the crisper, drier side much like the whites from this region.
Sweet
The Loire Valley is known for its sweet wines that make for great aperitif or desert wine. Sweet white wines from the Loire are frequently paired with foie gras preparations and are known to work well with blue cheeses as well.
Headed to the Loire Valley?
- Getting from Paris to the Loire Valley
- Autumn in the Loire
- Castles of the Loire
- Check out another alocholic beverage made in the Loire and Visit the Cointreau Distillery
Bordeaux
When you think of French wine, many people think immediately of Bordeaux. In fact, Bordeaux is not only one of France’s largest wine producing regions, with average vintages producing as many as 900 million bottles a year. Bordeaux wines range from everyday table wines to some of the most prestigious and expensive wines in the world.
There are 57 different appellations of Bordeaux wine (not sure what that means? Read French Wine: Understanding the 4 Categories) and Bordeaux wine is made by 10,000 producers (chateaux) from the grapes of 13,000 grape growers.
It is no wonder wine making is the main industry in this region, as it were Romans first established many vineyards during their occupation of Saint Emillon over a hundred years before the birth of Christ.
Dry Whites
Dry white wines are made throughout the region, from a blend dominated by Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, with those from Graves being the most well-known and the only sub-region with a classification for dry white wines. Unlike the lighter whites from the Loire Valley, many of these wines tend to have a significant oak influence.
Sweet Whites
In several locations and appellations throughout the region, sweet white wine is made from Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes affected by noble rot. The best-known of these appellations is Sauternes, which also have an official classification, and where some of the world’s most famous sweet wines are produced. There are also appellations neighboring Sauternes, on both sides of the Garonne River, where similar wines are made. Try a glass of sauternes paired with foe gras. It’s like heaven. I’m not kidding you will think a thousand angels are singing in your mouth. (Read more about Pate: A Delicious, Spreadable Treat).
>>Because Bordeaux Wines are notoriously the best in France, they also tend to carry a bigger price tag. Find out more about Bordeaux Wine (coming soon)
Headed to Bordeaux?
Burgundy
This region produces many of France’s most famous wines and many of the wines from here are called Burgundies in honor of the region they come from. In fact, Burgundy has a higher number of AOCs (read about appellations in French Wine: Understanding the 4 Categories) than any other region in France. While small amounts of Roses and sparkling wines are produced in Burgundy, the region is best known for its Chardonnay-dominated Chablis, its light, young, red Beaujolais Nouveau and its Pinot Noirs.
Because of the long history of monasteries and wine making in this area, Burgundy is the most terroir conscious region in France and immense attention is paid to which wines are produced where and in what kind of 400 types of soil that exist in this region. Below are the main Burgundy Wine classifications:
Whites
Chardonnay is the most common white wine found in Burgundy. However, the Aligoté is a drier, more acidic white wine that is traditionally used in my favorite cocktail a kir (which mixes white wine and black currant liqueur called cassis). Chablis (a chardonnay) is the best known of Burgundy whites and it a dry white wine known for the purity of its aroma and taste and the cooler weather in the part of France produces the notoriously acidic Chablis.
Reds
Ninety percent of the wine productions in this region are varieties of red wines, of which Burgundy is best known for its Pinot Noirs. Pinot Noir grapes grow best in cooler temperatures, which is why the northern region of Burgundy (and my home state of Oregon) produces notoriously good Pinot Noirs. Pinot noir thrives in Burgundy, particularly on the Cote d’Or which has produced some of the world’s most celebrated wines for centuries.
Beaujolais
Made from the thin skinned and tannis light Gamay grape, Beaujolais wines are very light-bodied red wines with high acidity that are meant to be drunk young. Every year, there are celebrations around France (and the world) during the third week in November to celebrate the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau.
>>Read about the Beaujolais Nouveau Festival
Rhone
This wine region in southern France produces many varieties of wines under different appellations, though the most widely produced and well-known wines are called Cotes du Rhones. Cotes du Rhone is one of the more diverse wine regions in France, producing everything from full-bodied reds to fruity reds and dry, full bodied whites. The Rhone wine region is also unique in that is distinctly separated into a southern and northern region—in between which there is a large expanse of land with very vineyards.
Reds
The smaller northern Rhone wine producing region is much smaller than the southern one and produces mostly full bodied reds from the Syrah grape. The mostly northerly are is called the Cote Rotie (roasted slope) for the large amounts of sunshine this area gets—sweetening the grapes more than others.
The southern Rhone wine region produces mostly full-bodied syrahs. The Rhone region is unique in that is also home to beginnings of the appellation contrôlée system, which defines the many vineyard regions of France. The reds from the southern Rhone region are known for being fine wines at more affordable prices than Burgundies and Bordeauxs.
Whites
South of the Cote Rotie and the full bodied syrahs, the Rhone Valley produces white wines produced from the Viognier grape in the region of Condruei. These whites are known as rather intense with fresh acidity and higher alcohol content.
Rose
There is a small appellation in the Rhone region called Tavel which produces rosé wines. While these wines are not well known, they do have a small following. Rosé from this regions uses mostly Grenaches grapes and are best drunk young.
Languedoc-Roussillon
Much like the nearby Bordeaux wine region, the origins of vineyards in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southwestern France date back to Greek and Roman times (you will often see bottles of wine from this region labeled Vin de Pays d’Oc).
This dry and warm region gets little rainfall and is actually the most productive wine region in the world. The area, which stretches from the hills of Corbieres at the foot of the Pyrenees to the Mediterranean coast, is the sunniest region in France, which allows for a slightly longer growing season and makes the climate in this region of France, is more similar to wine growing regions in Spain than in most of France.
Reds
The area is home to many different grape varieties from Merlots to Cabernet Sauvignons and Syrahs. This region produces mostly red wines, which tend to be spicy and full-bodied.
Whites
This region produces several different types of whites—from Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Grenache and Muscat Blanc grape varieties. These white wines have a reputation of being on the drier side.
Vins Doux NaturelsThese are speciality, “naturally sweet” wines from the region, which have been fortified with brandy to stop fermentation and to add sweetness to the wine. The majority of these sweet white wines are made using Muscat grapes, have higher alcohol content (up to 17%) and have more sugars.
Cremant de Limoux
Although these sparkling wines are made using the methode champenoise, because it does not actually come from the Champagne region the sparkling wine from this region is called cremant de Limoux. The sparkling wines from this region are made with the same method to make Champagne and are made in the small villages surrounding (obviously) Limoux. The wines are normally composed of a combination of Mauzac, Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc grapes.
Alsace
This region in northern France that hugs the German border is known mostly for its dry whites and sparkling wines, which grow and age well in the cooler, damper climate than in the hotter and more sun-drenched southern regions of France.
Historically this region has changed hands between the French and Germans several times over the past few centuries, this region has historically had very close ties with Germany and German culture. This also applies to the wines, which produces some of the best Rieslings in the world and whose aromatic Gewürztraminer wines. Because of its Germanic influence, it is the only region in France to produce mostly varietal wines, typically from similar grapes as used in German wine.
Reds
Almost all the wines from Alsace are whites, with the exception of a few pinot noirs, which tend to have a paler red skin and are often almost rose in color.
Whites
The vast majority of wines from Alsace are whites, which are made from more aromatic grape varieties and tend to be floral and spicy in flavor. Since wines from this region are seldom aged in oak barrels, which means they tend to fairly pure in character.
Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer wines from Alsace have higher sugar content and tend to be sweeter, whereas Riesling, Muscat and Sylvaner wines tend to be much drier.
Sparkling (or Cremant d’Alsace)
Located fairly close to the Champagne region, Alsace also produces a significant amount of sparkling wine. Sparkling wine from this region uses the traditional methode champenoise and is made using mostly Pinot Blanc grapes.
Champagne
While this is not technically an entire large region, it is well known as only sparkling wine from this specific appellation in France can be called champagne. The method for making champagne was invented in this area in northeastern France near the city or Reims about 100 miles from Paris.
However, long before this region became mostly known for its bubbly wine, Champagne was a major wine growing region in France starting in the Middle Ages. The region’s proximity to Paris this region developed a strong reputation for producing some of the country’s finest wines. In fact, the Champagne region and Burgundy have a centuries old rivalry and starting during the times of Louis XIV, proponents of wine from these two major wine producing regions would come to Versailles to compete for dominance among the French court.
Reds
Because this region of France is located further north and in an area with limited sunshine, this is actually a difficult area for grapes to fully ripen. This means that most of the wines coming from Champagne tend to be whites and sparkling, as these more acidic grape varieties do better in the climate. However, that being said, the cooler climate also is perfect for the growing of Pinot Noirs, which are the best reds from this area.
Whites
Champagne is known for its Chardonnay. The cooler climates and soil tend to make these grapes have a higher acidic content and they tend to be lighter, crisper and less fruity than the wines from regions further south.
Champagne
Of course, the Champagne region is best known for the sparkling wine that comes from this region. In fact, the area was the birthplace of la methode champenoise and is where the first bottles of the sparkling wine were created.
Envious of the stellar reputation of the Burgundy wines from the south, the Champenois (i.e. people from Champagne) sought to produce wines of equal acclaim. However, the northerly climate of the region gave the Champenois a unique set of challenges in making red wine—the cooler temperatures meant grapes would struggle to ripen fully and often would have bracing levels of acidity and low sugar levels. However, the same conditions that made producing good red wines difficult in the Champagne region also proved to be the reason for sparkling wines to succeed.
Want to know more about Champagne?
map of wine regions from French Imports. photos: bordeaux , champagne , languedoc, rhone, alsace
