French Vineyards’ origin
French vineyards have played a vital role in France’s success, the world’s leading wine-producing country.
The Greeks planted the first vines when they colonised southern France and founded Marseille around the 6th century BC, and the Romans replanted the vineyards approximately 2,000 years ago.
Benefiting from an extraordinary diversity of soils and climates, and thanks to advanced pruning and wine-making techniques, French vineyards began to produce wines of exceptional quality.
From the 5th century onward, religious communities played a significant role in the expansion of French vineyards. They indeed cleared the south-facing slopes along waterways to plant vines for their sacramental wine, as well as for trade. In the 17th century, the nobility recognised the commercial potential of viticulture, contributing to the continued expansion and improvement of French vineyards.
French vineyards after the French Revolution
The French Revolution had disastrous consequences for French vineyards. Many religious institutions were indeed destroyed, and due to a lack of expertise in viticulture, their vineyards fell into ruin or were repurposed. Added to this was the devastating phylloxera epidemic, which wiped out the last remaining French vineyards between 1850 and 1870. The vineyards were rebuilt by grafting French grape varieties onto American root-stocks, which were resistant to phylloxera.
Then came the First World War, followed by the stock market crash of 1929, which further hampered the recovery of French viticulture.
Thus, the INAO ((Institut National des Appellations d’Origine) – National Institute of Appellations of Origin) was created in 1936 to revitalise French wine production and protect the iconic appellations of Bordeaux and Champagne from foreign competition. World War II dealt another severe blow to efforts to revive the sector.
Fortunately, substantial investments, along with the emergence of a new generation of winemakers, propelled French vineyards to new heights. Although many countries produce wines of exceptional quality, France’s unique terroirs and the unparalleled expertise of its winemakers continue to place French wines among the best in the world.
French Vineyards in figures
French vineyards cover an area of 900,000 hectares, spread across 25,000 wine-growing communes.
They encompass 13 distinct wine regions: Alsace, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence-Corsica, Jura, Languedoc-Roussillon, Lorraine, Loire Valley, Rhône Valley, Savoie-Bugey, and Southwest France.
These regions are home to 16 renowned wine regions: Alsace, Bordeaux, Beaujolais, Burgundy, Bugey, Champagne, Corsica, Jura, Languedoc, Lorraine, Loire Valley, Provence, Roussillon, Rhône Valley, Savoie, and Southwest France.
These vineyards are classified as AOC-AOP, IGP, and Vin de Table. This represents a total of 383 appellations, 1,313 designations, and 3,245 labelled wines (2,959 AOC-AOP and 286 IGP), offering a wide variety of colours and labels.
The INAO (National Institute of Appellations of Origin) was founded in 1936 to establish classifications and regulations, thus guaranteeing the authenticity of French wines. This labelling system was reformed in 2011.
The AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée) has been replaced by the AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée). This French label certifies the geographical origin of a wine.
The VDQS (Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure) is the second-highest label and is quite rare. It applies to a very limited number of wines eligible for AOC/AOP designation. This label is sometimes replaced by AOVDQS, with AO standing for Appellation d’Origine..
IGP, or Indication Géographique Protégée (Protected Geographical Indication), is the new designation for what was previously known as “Vin de Pays” (Country Wine).
Furthermore, the former designation Vin de Table (Table Wine) has been replaced by Vin de France (French Wine).
These designations reflect the rich diversity of soils, climates, and vintages found in France. Neighbouring vineyards often produce distinct wines, giving their appellations unique characteristics. Consequently, an appellation can encompass several AOCs, AOPs, and IGPs.
French Vineyards’ grapes varieties
The unparalleled variety of soils and climates, the diversity of landscapes and geographical features, allows for the production of wines from a wide range of grape varieties.
White wines: Aligoté, Auxerrois Blanc, Chardonnay, Chasselas, Chenin Blanc, Pineau de Loire, Clairette, Colombard, Folle Blanche, Grenache Blanc, Gros Menseng, Jacquère, Macabeu, Marsanne, Mauzac, Melon de Bourgogne, Muscadelle, Muscat Blanc, Muscat of Alexandria, Pinot Blanc, Piquepoul Blanc, Plantet, Riesling, Roussanne, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Sylvaner, Terret Blanc, Ugni Blanc, Vermention, Viognier.
Rosé or gris (grey) wines: Pinot Gris, Grenache Gris.
Red wines: Alicante Bouschet, Aramon, Cabernet France, Cabernet Sauvignon, Caladoc, Carignan, Cinsaut, Fer, Gamay, Gewürztraminer, Grenache, Grolleau, Gros Plant, Malbec – Côt, Marselan, Merlot, Mourvèdre, Muscat de Hamburg, Négrette, Nielluccio, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Tannat, Villard Noir.
French vineyards produce 30% white wines and 70% red, rosé and grey wines.
Discover the French vineyards
The 13 French wine regions are further divided into sub-regional wine areas:
Alsace – Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin
Bordeaux – Blaye-Bourg, Entre–Deux-Mers, Graves, Libourne, Médoc, Sauternes and Barsac
Beaujolais – Crus du Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, Beaujolais
Bourgogne – Chablis, Côtes de Nuits, Côtes de Beaune, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâcon
Champagne – Côte des Blancs, Côte des Bar, Côte de Sézanne, Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Vitry-le-François
Provence-Corse – Corse, Provence
Jura – Arbois, Côtes du Jura
Languedoc– Roussillon Languedoc – Roussillon
Lorraine – Meuse, Moselle, Toul
Loire – Anjou-Saumur, Auvergne, Centre Loire, Pays Nantais, Touraine
Rhône – Côteaux du Lyonnais, Rhône Meridional, Rhône Septentrional
Savoie-Bugey – Bugey, Savoie
Sud-Ouest – Agen, Aveyron, Béarn, Bergerac, Cahors, Chalosse, Gaillac, Marmande, Pays Basque, Toulouse
Please remember to drink responsibly www.drinkaware.co.uk – L’abus d’alcool est dangereux pour la santé, à consommer avec modération – Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Photo2 by Freepik – Map of French wines regions by SeballaOne Public domain – Resource
