there is also a top level overview of each region below

“You’re tasting a place when you taste French wine”

Although the wines of France are numerous, the great regions are comparatively few

Alsace vineyards produce excellent, refreshing white table wines. Separated from Germany on the east by the Rhine, Alsace understandably produces wines similar to their German cousins. However the dry and full flavoured, spicy Alsatian wines, 90% of which are white, are stronger in taste and alcohol than German wines 

Bordeaux, with 247,000 acres, is a wine-producing area three times the size of Burgundy. Bordeaux is the largest fine wine-making region in the world, as well as the most legendary. More than half the fine wines of the world come from France and about half of these are from Bordeaux. Although the reputation is built mostly on red wines, especially those from the Médoc, St.-Èmilion and Pomerol districts, the region produces the entire gamut of wines, including dry and sweet whites, and rosé  

Burgundy is home to some of the most exciting wines in the world. Burgundy also produces two of the most popular wines in France: Beaujolais and Chablis.  In general, Burgundy wines are fruity, dark, full-bodied, and sweet compared to Bordeaux wines which are light, dry, and delicate.  Burgundy red wines tend to mature much faster than those of Bordeaux. Also, unlike Bordeaux, many wines must be made using a single grape 

Burgundy wines vary greatly. Less than ¼ of burgundy wine is white, with Chablis and Sauterne the best known among them. All the great whites are made from the Chardonnay grape. All the great reds are made from the Pinot grape

Champagne produces a wine so famous that many people don’t know precisely what it is. Champagne is rigidly controlled and strictly defined in France, and the name, far from applying to all sparkling wine, is only legal when applied to one that is unique and made in the district for which it is named

The Valley of the Loire is sometimes regarded as the most beautiful French wine region. The river is wide and deep, the landscape is quiet and undulated. The wines reflect the mood of the landscape. They are soft, pleasant, charming and light

About three quarters of the production are white wines. Loire whites may be dry, semi-sweet, or sweet, and are usually better than the reds

The Rhône River stretches from Switzerland to the Mediterranean, its banks lined with vineyards, often planted on steep slopes.  Rhône reds are sturdy, big, perfumed and often magnificent. The whites also have a distinctive vigor of their own. The rosé from Tavel is probably the best known of all rosé wines

Languedoc is France's New World wine region. The vineyards cover over 740,000 acres, three times as much as Bordeaux. This is the source of one in 10 bottles of the world's wine and one in three bottles of French wine. Until recently, very little of the wine was AOC; Vin de Pays d'OC was the region’s most important product.  It is red wine country, with some rosé and whites