France has built itself into the global winemaking capital over the past thousand years, crafting perfect wines, housing generational talent, and adapting to neverending trends. From boutique, family-owned estates in Burgundy, elite First Growths in Bordeaux, and stylish Champagne houses just outside of Paris, French wines are as diverse and complex as they are sumptuous. With increased competition from Italy, Spain, and Napa Valley, France's next generations of vintners are working to ensure the country remains the world's powerhouse wine hub.
French Wine History
The earliest evidence of French wine dates back to 425 B.C.E. in Southern France, where the farmers in the region first began producing wines after the Roman takeover. For the first few centuries of production, wines were rather unspectacular as many early winemakers had yet to discover techniques like fermentation, maceration, and other modern innovations.
Leading into the Middle Ages, Bordeaux became a hotspot for wine thanks to its prime location near trading ports. The English were heavy importers of Bordeaux wine before being overtaken by the Dutch in the late 13th century. During this time, many vineyards were controlled by the Catholic Church and various monasteries, imprinting a large religious influence on various estates. For instance, Chateau Angelus' label includes a church bell, and Chateau Pape-Clement was named after Pope Clement V. Once the French Revolution occurred in the late 18th century, estate ownership became secularized and the wine trade flourished across the country.
For the next 200 years, France went unchallenged as the world's powerhouse wine producer, with estates from Champagne, Bordeaux, and Burgundy gaining international notoriety, being served at global events like the Cannes Film Festival, and making their way into important trade discussions with some of the world's most powerful political leaders. In today's world, France is still used as fine wine's reference point, not without challenge from New World Napa Valley producers and European estates from Italy and Spain.
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