Winemeister

French wines are usually known by a combination of their regional names of origin like Bordeaux or "Cote du Rhone", territory names controlled by the [INAO] like "[St. Emilion]", "[Medoc]" or "[Paulliac]". Further identifications found on the label are the names of the vineyard or producer, the vintage and the classification. See [How To Read a French Label] for details.

The designations of origin are controlled by an institute called INAO or "Institute nationale d'appellations d'origine". The INAO uses four levels of strictness for patrolling the wine makers' adherence to traditional principles. The strictest one is the AOC or "appellation d'origine contrôllée". It enforces rules like location of the vineyard, prohibitions on contribution of grapes or juice from other areas, prescriptions on which wine making process to use and more. One level down (from the INAO's perspective) is the [VdQS] or Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieur, followed by [vin de pays] and [vin de table]. Each level down losens some of the very tight AOC restrictions.

One thing worth keeping in mind is that the restrictions do not directly guarantee a good quality wine. For example, there is no rule that says a vintner cannot make excellent wine outside any of the regions recognized by the INAO, which would automatically force it to adopt "vin de table" status. However, since the INAO classifies wine along traditional wine making boundaries, chances are better to find a good quality wine within the system.

The major wine making areas in France are located in the following regions:

Alsace
Located near the border of Germany along the Rhine valley, [Alsace] shares many characteristics of its wine with the neighboring German regions of [Baden] and [Pfalz]. It is famous for its [Gewurztraminer], [Pino Gris] and [Riesling] white wines and has recently also started producing more [Pinot Noir] red wine.

Bordeaux
Located on the Atlantic coast just north of the Pyrenee mountains, Bordeaux is famous mainly for its exquisite selection of red wines. Wines from the [Saint Emilion], [Paulliac], [Medoc] or [Haut Medoc] are known for producing superior quality and also superior price tags. Much less known are the white wines of Bordeaux, which fall in two categories - sweet [Sauternes] wines and fully fermented whites that typically come out very dry.

Bourgogne
Cote de Provence
Cote du Rhone