When you think of France, you think of wine of course. We've all dreamt of driving through stunning landscapes, sipping fabled grand crus and musing with the winemaker. But there are so many regions to choose from, your vision can quickly become mired with overwhelming research and decision.
It's ok, we're here to help plan your perfect trip! Below we've listed out our top picks for wine regions in France, taking into account personal wine tastes, how much time you have to visit and what other activities are available in the region.
1. Burgundy
Burgundy is one of France's oldest winemaking region. Wine-making has been a tradition here since the Middle Ages when monks were producing wine. Some of those original monasteries - now no longer monasteries - are still making wine today (The Château de Clos-Vougeot is an unmissable stop if you want to step back in history!).
The vineyards in Burgundy run down the picturesque valley of the River Saône from Dijon in the north, where you find the Côtes de Nuits and below it the Beaune region, down to Macon where you find the gloriously velvety Pouilly Fuissé whites.
Wine properties in Burgundy are typically small and they produce small quantities of wine (at a potentially very high price!). Burgundy is most famous for its red wine, produced with pinot noir grapes, and the best vintages need 10 to 20 years to age. Burgundy also produces some of the best white wine in the world, made from the chardonnay grape.
The five main wine-growing areas are:
The most famous crus here, such as Romanée Conti, can fetch many thousands of Euros, but you should also expect small, cosy vineyards where wine tasting will feel more like an apéritif at the winemaker's house!
Burgundy is also perfect for those who have a penchant for the Middle Ages. The beautiful and historical towns of Dijon, Beaune and Cluny will leave you feeling transported to another age. You can expect to enjoy historical sights, art museums and amazing food (Burgundy is home to the world-famous boeuf bourguignon and escargots).
If you're more in the mood for a full-bodied wine and world famous grand-crus, Bordeaux is the region for you. Bordeaux has long been a highly coveted wine region: in the mid-12th century, England's King Henry II, who controlled the land through marriage, tried to gain the favor of the locals by granting them free trade status with England.
The Bordeaux wine region is really two distinct regions: left bank and right bank. They may both run along the river Gironde, but don't be fooled, they are very distinct in the wine world! The terroir and soil are different. The percentages of grapes planted are not the same. And that is just to get things started!
All the wines on the Left Bank are blends, with the dominant grape being the Cabernet Sauvignon, followed by Merlot and Cabernet Franc. The most famous grands crus come from the Left Bank, such as Château Lafitte and Château Margaux. There are six major appellations on the Left Bank:
The Right Bank is a much larger region than the Left Bank, but it's dominated by two major appellations, Pomerol and Saint Emilion, and Château Petrus and Château Figeac lead the pack of famous wineries. The dominant grape on the Right Bank is Merlot and so the wines tend to be less tannic.
Wine tasting in Bordeaux does take some planning. The châteaux here are bigger than your average French vineyard and a number of them are world-famous. Try to book far ahead if possible and expect to pay a fee for the visits (rare for wine-tasting in France), though the wine pours are always very generous and the guided visits are typically worth it.
Alongside wine tasting, you should definitely make a trip to Bordeaux, a beautiful city in itself. Wine tasting will take you to many small, picturesque villages where you can learn to watch the world go by while sipping on a grand crus. The seaside is close by and a night or two in the Arcachon Bay could be the perfect end to a trip in this region.
Out of all the French wine regions, the Loire Valley produces the greatest variety of wines. The most common grapes are the muscadet, cabernet franc and chenin blanc varieties. Wines tend to be on the lighter side and delicate.
It's definitely one of the more relaxed wine regions in France. The Loire Valley is famed for its rosé as well as several other highly celebrated areas:
The trick to drinking wine in Loire Valley is to visit a vineyard where there is a sign saying Dégustation Gratuite, which means you taste for free, and if you like it, buy it.
Wine-tasting in the Loire Valley is very leisurely and relaxed, which is perfect as you'll want to make the most of what makes the Loire Valley so famous: its historical châteaux!
With more than 3.3 million visitors per year, the group of 42 châteaux that make up the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Loire Valley is one of the most popular tourist destinations in France outside of Paris itself. A must-see!
Champagne is another region where religious order played a role in creating a wine-making tradition. In the 17th century, an innovative monk called Dom Pérignon perfected a technique for making sparkling wine, now known as the "Méthode Champenoise." Today, Champagne is arguably France's best-known wine. There are many sparkling wines in the world, but nothing quite like a bottle of France's Champagne.
Champagne is made from the red pinot noir, the black pinot meunier or the white chardonnay grape. Each vine is vigorously pruned and trained to produce a small quantity of high-quality grapes. To maintain exclusivity (and price!), the designated areas where grapes used for Champagne can be grown the and amount of wine produced each year is limited.
And there's never been a better time to visit Champagne. In 2008, France decided to extend the Champagne label by moving the borders that confine the label to include an additional 40 villages. Then, in 2015 the wine region finally made it on to the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites.
You may think Champagne would be one of the more expensive regions in France, but don't rule it out on cost alone! You can find many a great bottle of champagne for $15-20 and a number of the vineyards will produce a second label that doesn't necessarily carry the Champagne label but is made by the same winemaker with high-quality grapes - these bottles are truly hidden gems.
The big names like Moët, Taittinger, Veuve Clicquot and the rest are of course fun to visit and you learn a lot from them. But the real pleasure of Champagne is driving out to the countryside where family outfits established for generations create their own refinement with wellies, tractors and buckets, in cellars dug out by their great-grandfather. Some 4,600 growers (out of 15,000 total in the region) produce their own champagne or belong to co-operates that do, so you'll have plenty to choose from (the rest of the growers sell their grapes to the well-known houses)!
Last but not least, no blog post on wine would be complete without Languedoc. If you want to combine sun, sea, history and wine, this may be the perfect region for you!
The Languedoc region in the South of France is the country's most productive wine region,. Approximately 40% of France's wine is produced here (mainly cheap red wine destined for exports). About 1,550 miles of the region is "under vine", which represents just over a third of France's total and the region includes 16 areas each composed of many different domains.
Before you discount it as the "cheap" wine region, it's worth noting that the last decade has seen a real transformation in Languedoc wines with quality becoming a priority for winemakers. For example, many mass-market vineyards replanted with more nuanced grape varieties and these changes are definitely showing in the wine.
The advantage of Languedoc being more geared towards mass market is that it does tend to mean that the vignerons are less formal and much more approachable. You'll also find a number of international vignerons, who are very welcoming and less bound by French winemaking tradition and culture.
So here you are, France by Celine's top five wine regions in France! Every wine region has its associated food specialties, so be sure to check out our guide to French gastronomy. Still wondering what that the right option is for you? We've designed a quiz to help you find your ideal wine vacation. Click below to access the quiz!