The Wine Bottle

With an annual production of seven to eight billion bottles per year, its no wonder France is the most famous and highest wine producing country in the world. There are a number of wine making regions dotted around France with some areas being dated as far back as 600 BC.

The wines produced today reflect a changing world, with a larger range of pricing, both cheaper and expensive, available to consumers. To keep its reputation as the top winemaking country, France has had to adapt and incorporate new manufacturing and transportation technology in its production process.
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.

A number of the most famous and prominent grape varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah all originally came from the vineyards 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.

The spread of grapes across many countries also brought with it a number of winemakers armed with the knowledge of French winemaking techniques.

The rich history embedded in the French winemaking conjures up dreamy images of the roving vinewyards of France. It has remained a leader in grape varieties, wine sales and production for hundreds of years. On top of all of this, it has managed to retain the pole position while still adhering to its age old winemaking traditions.

It is for these reasons that France is still the flagship country leading the world in wine production standards.

Follow the link for more information on French Wines.

Tags: french wine, French wines, wine from france