The Most Important French Wine Regions:
The French and their wine regions are responsible for most of the international wines that we all drink today. From Cabernet Sauvignon to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, France has the most diverse set of wine regions and wine growing environments on the planet. They are largely responsible for the type of wine that the world enjoys, so spending some time talking about the most important wine regions in France makes some sense!
Bordeaux: The most expensive set of wines in the world, for good reason. Despite claims in California and elsewhere, nothing quite ages like a high quality Bordeaux. Based largely on Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, these are dark and dense red wines, typically with high levels of acidity than their counterparts in the new world. Prized for generations, it isn’t unusual to see high quality Bordeaux selling for well over $100 per bottle. Some people will talk about the differences between the left bank of Bordeaux and the right bank of Bordeaux, but in reality the only real difference between the two is if the wines are focused on Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. For wine lovers, it’s sometimes easier to simply enjoy what ends up in your glass.
Burgundy: The ancestral home to Pinot Noir, Burgundy boasts the coolest climate of any great wine growing region. The results are wines, which can admittedly sometimes struggle to achieve ripeness and sometimes aren’t able to kick those veggie characteristics that wine drinkers are increasingly frustrated by. Of course, when it comes to Pinot Noir, Burgundy still achieves a level that can’t be matched outside of a few small regions in California. If you’re buying Burgundy though, just remember that vintage and growing conditions matter more than they do elsewhere.
Rhone Valley: Some time ago, wine drinkers in America had largely discounted the Rhone Valley. Now, Syrah and Grenache are two varieties which are gaining market share and importance within the wine industry within America. Wine Spectator even named a Grenache Syrah and Mouvedre blend from Paso Robles as its Wine of the Year. The influx of interest has helped the Rhone take its rightful place among the wine elite in France, as well as elsewhere. One of the fascinating aspects of the Rhone Valley is that it shows very real differences between the northern and southern Rhone. It’s location at the southern end of France, closest to the Mediterranean means that the Southern Rhone is the cooler of the two growing environments and typically produces more balanced and approachable wines. The Northern Rhone by contrast has a very real consumer following, after all the style is more reminiscent of California, Australia or the rest of the new world. For French wine, no other growing region can make that claim.
Champagne: It’s one of the great marketing stories in any industry anywhere, but when is the last time that you had sparkling wine and called it anything other than Champagne? Much like Tequila in Mexico, Champagne is only sparkling wine made in a specific region. In this case, the region is about 45 miles outside of Paris, which has undoubtedly helped the region gain consumer acceptance over the past two hundred years. These are wines which are largely based on Chardonnay, but you can also make really high quality Champagne using Pinot Noir grapes, which is something that we’re starting to see happen more and more often.
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As the owner of a wine of the month club based in California, I’ve grown extremely interested in French wine and how French wine regions largely became the most important wine regions in the world. I hope you have enjoyed this short introduction to French wine.
