The Rich History of French Wine

France, a country renown for its wines, is the highest wine producer of any country in the world, averaging around seven to eight billion bottles every year. It comes as no surprise that France is covered in winemaking regions, each with a distinct style of wine.

The wines produced today reflect a changing world, with a larger range of pricing, both cheaper and expensive, available to consumers. With changing technology in both manufacturing and transportation, France has been forced to adapt to remain on top of the winemaking list.
In the recent past, the French have been very protective of their origins and wine naming conventions, and with good reason, protecting such famous names as Bordeaux, Champagne and Burgundy.

The guidelines used to protect naming origins and winemaking for French regions is known as the  Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) system. The body in charge, sets down and enforces the rules in the AOE system which is also used to determine which winemaking practices and grape varieties are allowed to be used in the specific wine producing regions of France.

Another term that is very French is “terrior”, which indicates a number of growing factors that can vary from vineyard to vineyard, taking into account factors like, soil condition, orientation toward the sun and slope of the land.

Many of the most famous varieties of grape such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah all originated from the wine growing regions of France. The last few hundred years of exploration and colonization has seen the spread on both number and popularity of these grape varieties across the globe.

Along with the grapes, the colonists brought over the unique French wine making practices in an effort to produce the same style of wines from France.

The long and proud history of French wine has added to its mystique. It has long been a market leader in sales, grape varieties and wine production trends. On top of all of this, it has managed to retain the pole position while still adhering to its age old winemaking traditions.

As a result French wine and particular houses remain in high demand around the world.

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