A Guide to the Wine Regions of France
If you are just starting to learn about wines, you should know that the best wines are dependent on the environmental conditions of the places where they are produced. In the world, we can find a few places where great wine is produced. Wines here are produced from the best quality grapes grown in optimal weather conditions. The best quality wines comes from grapes produced in these kinds of environment. France is one of the greatest wine regions in the world.
When wine is being discussed, people always think of the country of France. France is one of the largest producers of wine in the world. Every year, France produces billions of bottles of wine. France has the largest share in the world’s wine market. There are different and distinct wines produced in different wine regions in France. There are a variety of wines coming from the same type of grapes. This is due to the special characteristics of the land.
Here is a list of wine producing regions in France which are very popular.
Alsace is a wine-producing region located on the river Rhine in the eastern part of France. White wine is very popular in this region but they also produce some reds. Some of the grapes grown in this region are Pinot Noir, Muscat, Riesling, and more.
If you go to the Atlantic coast of France, you will find Bordeaux which is a red wine region there. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and sometimes Cabernet Franc are blended to produce the wines that this region exports.
Burgundy or Bourgogne is located in the eastern part of France. Equally popular are red and white wines produced in tis region. Cote de Nuits, Cote de Beaune, Cote Chalonnaise, and Maconnaise are the four sub regions of Burgundy. Grape varieties in this region include Chardonnay for white wine, and Pinot Noir for red.
Champagne is the home of the world-famous sparkling wine of France which is located close to Belgium and Luxembourg. But this region also produces non-sparkling or still wines.
The island of Corsica or Corse in the Mediterranean Sea is also a French wine region. In this island, table wine is produced for their own consumption. If you want to sample their offerings, then you need to join a wine tasting tour to this place.
Jura is situated in the mountains of France near to Belgium and is known to produce wines from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Most of the table wines in France are produced from the largest regions in terms of vineyard surface and this Languedoc-Roussillon
The Loire Valley in the Loire valley produces white wine from vines growing along the river basic.
Provence and Rhone are both very warm and mainly produce rose and red wines.
Savoy located in the Alps produces mostly white wines that are made from grapes only found in this region.