| Visiting the French Wine Regions |
| Part 1: General Information on French Wine Regions and a Map |
There is hardly an area of France in which vines are not cultivated. Why not take a tour of some of the most famous vineyards? We'll start off with a discussion of the main wine regions, and then head off to the great vineyards of Burgundy, as good a place as any to start. photos & graphics © 2002 by James Martin, Licensed to About. |
 |
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
If you have tipped a glass of wine in the last decade--or at least watched an old black and white movie featuring rich folks--you're likely to have heard the names of at least three of France's great wine regions--Burgundy, Champagne, and Bordeaux. There are other regions to consider when you're motoring around France as well. Here are some highlights:
- Burgundy - Many of the vines here have been cultivated by monks since at least the 500s. The names of the religious orders became the names of some of France's most renouned wines: Chambertin, Santenay, Pommard, Meursault. You'll be surprised how small the great vineyards are if you decide to walk around them. Each property is made up of a many of small, disconnected parcels of land. 3500 properties are responsible for two thirds of the 24,000 hectares of vines planted.
- Champagne - Less then 200 km north-east of Paris (a long day trip) starts the Champagne region. Think Veuve Clicquot, Moët et Chandon, Ruinart, Krug, Pommery, Dom Pérignon. Originally the wines of this region weren't sparkling wines. Dom Pérignon started it all by realizing that it was carbon dioxide that made the bubbles and he could make good use of it by bottling the wine before it had fully fermented.
- Bordeaux - The most extensive wine producing region of France. Think Petrus, Yquem, Cheval-Blanc, Mouton Rothschild, Château-Margaux, Haut-Brion. Mostly reds made up of a blend of red grapes. But there's also the sweet sauternes of Yquem that go surprisingly well with foie gras.
- Alsace - Mostly white wines produced near picturesque villages in France's northeast boundary. Twelve different varieties of grape are grown in Alsace: gewürztraminer, riesling, pinot gris (or tokay; the common current name is tokay-pinot gris), small-fruited white and pink muscat, muscat ottonel, pinot blanc, white auxerrois, pinot noir, white sylvaner, white and pink chasselas, klevener d'Heiligenstein (or pink savagnin), and chardonnay.
- Loire - A diverse region in which you'll find my favorite version of Savignon Blanc: Sancerre. And there are reds as well, try a Chinon.
You'll find information on other areas French wine regions in the selection above called "From Other Guides."
French Wine Regions |
 |
Regional
names appear in purple, city names in black |
When To Go?
April or May is good, as is harvest time from mid to late September--there
are usually harvest festivals around this time.
Where can I taste and is it free?
Look for signs that say "degustation" for tasting. 'En
vente directe' means they have direct sales and “vin
a’ emporter” means
they sell wine for you to take with you.
Many villages in the wine country have tasting rooms within the village, sometimes representing more than one winery. There may or may not be a small charge for tasting in these places, but remember that a charge may aleviate the ominous hard sell tactics used by some organizations and wineries.
You'll need a car (or at least a bicycle) to get to most of the wineries. Tours of the facility or meetings with the winemaker are more of a problem--you may need to contact the winery with credentials to speak to the winemaker or get a tour.
Should
I take an organized wine tour?
Although most wine tours are fairly expensive, they offer several
advantages: you will get access to wineries and winemakers
that you might not without credentials, you will get translations
of talks and tasting notes, you won't have to drive around
looking for tasting signs (or drive around at all). On the
other hand, if you're just looking to integrate a little
wine tasting
into
your
overall
vacation, a detour to a wine region can be a great pleasure
and will greatly increase your chances of seeing breathtaking
views along with stately villages where people have taken
pleasure in great
wine and
food for centuries. There is an advantage of dealing with
a commodity which is always in great demand!
Here are a couple of links to personal pages of people who've done it on their own and offer some good advice:
Wine Tasting in Bordeaux and the Touraine
Touring
Burgundy
For an example of a great region to visit, go on to the next page and discover the rich culture of the Burgundy wine region around the town of Beaune.
Next page > Burgundy around Beaune > Page 1, 2
