Speaking in broad-strokes, the northern vineyards are more renowned for their white wines, while the southern vineyards, from Burgundy south with the exception of the Jura and Savoy vineyards, are known for their red wines.īy clicking on the ‘wine region circles’ along the bottom of this article. While a few areas like Champagne, Alsace, Chablis, Burgundy, Rhône Valley and Bordeaux - enjoy worldwide recognition, there is actually commercial production of wine in nearly every region.

In 2018 in actual wine volumes produced France was 2nd, with Italy 1st and Spain 3rd - *(OIV).Īs the below wine map of France clearly shows, there are vineyards throughout France - *(except for regions on the far north-west coast). With Spain being 1st - China is now 2nd and Italy 4th in area planted with wine grapes *(not table or dried grapes). As of 2018 France had 11% of the world’s total area of planted wine grapes which makes it currently 3rd in area of grapes planted for wine production. AOP rules closely define which varieties and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover the region, village and even the vineyard.įrance is the source of many grape varieties planted around the globe, as well as winemaking practices and styles of wine that have been adopted in many wine producing countries.įor hundreds of years France has been producing quality, sort after wines. Two concepts central to quality French wine - is the notion of ‘terroir’, which links the style of wine to the location where the grapes are grown, made and the AOP system.

There are also over 360 official wine label classifications - (called AOP’s or Appellation d’Origine Protégée).Įach designation can allow several different types of wine to be produced - (white, red, rosé, sparkling, fortified and more.).

The unique wines produced across this country range from expensive wines which are sold internationally to modest wines typically only enjoyed within France.įrance has 200+ indigenous wine varietals - ranging from the well-known Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon to rare grapes like Persan and Prunelard Noir. France can trace its winemaking history to the 6th century BC - with many of France's regions dating their history of wine production to Roman times.

Alsace wine maps