French Wine

It's safe to say that we love French wine here at DrinkWell; it's one of our most expansive collections! However, it certainly is no secret that France is one of the biggest and best wine regions in the world. There are many wine regions within France, but five of the most famous regions are Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire Valley, Champagne, Rhône Valley and Provence. Whilst we don't know the exact number, the figure for acres of vineyards in France definitely reaches over the 1million mark! France is the source of many grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah.

The History of French Wine

It's thought that French wine originated in France in the 6th century as a result of the colonization of Southern Gaul by Greek settlers. Both the Roman Empire and St. Martin of Tours had a part to play in the origins of French wine. While the Roman Empire licensed regions in the south of France to produce wines, St Martin of Tours planted vineyards. It was then monks who maintained the vineyards and preserved and developed wine-making knowledge and skills.

The Wine Regions of France

As previously mentioned, there are lots of wine regions scattered across France but some regions are better known than others. However, each region has their own special qualities. For example;

Bordeaux

Located in the southwest of France, Bordeaux is one of the largest wine regions with over 271 800 acres of vineyards. Bordeaux wine is mainly red, particuarly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot which originated from the region.

Champagne

The clue here is in the name! The historical province of Champagne is best known for, you guessed it, sparkling wine

Rhône Valley

This wine region is known as the birthplace of Syrah as in the north is where this wine type is famously grown and produced. However, south of the region is strongly associated with grenache.