France produces some of the world's greatest wines. Think of the names: Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône, the Loire and Alsace.
Some of the best value comes from the South of France, from the Languedoc-Roussillon. Names like Corbières, Minervois, Fitou, St Chinian, and the host of country wines, particularly the Vins de Pays d'Oc. This is the region that used to be responsible for most of France's worst wines and they haven't all gone away. But there have been huge improvements, and there are lots of great bargains to be had, particularly among red wines.
Bargains are harder to find in the classic areas. The more famous the name, the greater the tendency towards over-pricing.
But France has a wealth of good wines - from the best producers. The complex, long-lived reds of Bordeaux - the Médoc, St Emilion & Pomerol; the elegant Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs of Burgundy; the cherry-scented Gamays of Beaujolais; the rich, powerful reds of the Northern and Southern Rhône. And there are the crisp, dry whites of the Upper Loire, the aromatic whites of Alsace and the great sweet whites of Bordeaux, Sauternes and Barsac.
And those are only the highlights at the start of the French wine journey. There are so many other lesser-known places to discover, with different grape varieties and wine styles to seduce you.
