French Wine 101

Wine has somehow got so associated with France that it is difficult to talk of wine and not about France. France is actually the second largest producer of wine but French wine is still hailed as the finest wine available. While a fair number of good wines hail from France, the country also has its share of ordinary wines with limited outstanding regional, varietal or vintage characteristics.
The French wine industry comprises of elements that are highly varied and of different nature. The French wine quality varies and ranges from exquisite to table wines as well. There are several regions in France and each region produces different types of wines with typical tastes. The quality of French wines is basically defined by the blend and recipe of grapes that are used in producing the particular blend. This is something that is typical of a chateau and no two chateaux will have the same quality, flavor, bouquet and variety of French wine that another has even if they are geographically close.

There are various regions that produce low-quality wines due to the kind of grape that they use or due to constant overproduction of the grape quality wherein they are obliged to produce large quantities of cheap wines. However there are other regions like Bordeaux that are known for good quality wines that are in high demand.
There are basically 12 regions in France that produce wine and some of the names are world famous and produce some of the best wines in the world. These recognized wine producing regions are regulated by INAO- Institut National des Appellations d'Origine. The system through which it regulates is Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC), which translates as ‘controlled term of origin.’ The central concept of high quality wine is terroir, which refers to the unique combination of geographical factors associated with a particular vineyard. The concept of terroir is the base of the French wine AOC system that governs winemaking and production in France and has been the model for appellation and wine laws all over the world.
Only the finest wines are classified by AOC. To receive these appellations wines must be produced within specific regions and meet exacting standards of grape variety, quantity of harvest, alcohol content and techniques of vine growing and wine making. Some of the prominent regions are detailed hereunder.