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Bordeaux is the largest region in terms of quality wine production, where many of the world’s most expensive wines are made.
Bordeaux, in southwest France, is primarily known for blended red wines driven by cabernet sauvignon on the left bank of the Gironde River and merlot and cabernet franc on the right bank.
Cabernet sauvignon-led Bordeaux blends have blackcurrant and new oak aromas with earthy, herbal flavors, and strong tannins. Merlot-led blends tend to be softer and plummy, and easier to drink without long aging.
White Bordeaux wines are barrel-aged blends of sauvignon blanc and sémillon.
The sweet wine appellation of Sauternes produces luscious dessert wines made from botrytis-affected grapes, which means a good fungus rots the grapes slightly making them sweeter and have a higher alcohol content.
Burgundy (Bourgogne) region also makes some of the most highly-sought wines, but these are made in miniscule quantities compared to Bordeaux, so their rarity also adds to their value.
Burgundy, located between the gastronomic hubs of Dijon and Lyon in eastern France, is dominated by pinot noir and chardonnay. Unlike in Bordeaux, the best vineyard sites may be split up among many small winemakers. Winemaking estates here are called domains.
The grand cru vineyards are clustered in the north of the region, along the Côte d’Or. The upper part of the “gold coast” is called the Côte de Nuits, where the region’s best pinot noir vineyards are planted. Burgundian pinot noir is earthy and elegant, with soft tannins and spicy cherry fruit flavors.
South of the Côte de Nuits, the Côte de Beaune is known for the best chardonnay sites, where the wines are rich and full-bodied, yet mineral.
Further south, the Côte Chalonnaise and Mâconnaise sub-regions produce more value-driven chardonnay wines.
Chablis, a region to the northwest of the Côte d’Or, makes chalky, high-acid chardonnay wines.
Rhône Valley (Côtes du Rhône) is known for red wines, from syrah in the north to grenache in the south.
The Rhône valley runs from north to south along the Rhône River in southeastern France. It encompaces two fairly distinct regions, each with different climates and grapes.
The Northern Rhône is smaller, with a cooler continental climate and granite soils. It is known for syrah-based reds from the famous appellations Côte-Rôtie, Cornas, Hermitage, and St-Joseph. These wines are smokey and meaty, with olive and violet notes. Whites from the Northern Rhône are made from viognier, which is oily and tropical fruited, and marsanne and roussanne, grapes which are often blended together in broad, low-acid wines with orchard fruit aromas. The Northern Rhône produces about 5% of Rhône wine, most of very high quality.
The Southern Rhône is almost ten times the size of its northern neighbor, and has a warmer Mediterraean climate and more varied terrain. Châteauneuf-du-Pape is the Southern Rhône’s most famous appellation, known for bold, high alcohol reds made from up to thirteen different grape varieties. Basic red Côtes du Rhône wine, which accounts for more than half of Rhône wine production, is based on grenache, syrah and mourvèdre, with cinsault and carignan playing smaller roles. This blended red is classic medium-bodied bistro wine, full of ripe red fruit and herbal notes. White wines from the Southern Rhône are usually a blend of soft, fruity white grapes like grenache blanc, roussanne, clairette, and picpoul.
Champagne rounds out the top three regions, making special occasion sparkling wines that are pricey because of the amount of labor that goes into their production.
Champagne is France’s northernmost wine region, located just east of Paris along the Marne River. At this northern latitude, grapes struggle to ripen, so the dominant wine style is sparkling, in which acidity is a virtue.
Champagne is made using the méthode Champenoise, in which the wine undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle. This traps carbon dioxide in the wine, creating strong yet fine bubbles. The wine also gains complex brioche-like, nutty notes from extended contact with the lees (spent yeast) in the bottle.
The main grapes of Champagne are chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier, the latter two of which are used to make blanc de noirs, white wine from black grapes. Five subregions, the Aube, Côte des Blancs, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallée de la Marne, each specialise in one of the main grapes. Champagne can be made from just one of the varieties or a blend of two or more varieties.
Champagne’s taste is not as dependent on the vintage as other wines in France. Most Champagne is a blend of wines from different vintages, which allows for a more consistent flavor profile. Champagne is available with sugar levels ranging from bone dry, to extra-brut and brut, to less common sweet styles
Did you know that it takes 600-800 grapes to make a bottle of wine…or that there are 49 million bubbles in a bottle of Champagne…or that 60 countries produce wine?