France

Bordeaux is the centre of the fine wine world. The maritime climate on the 45th parallel offers perfect conditions for growing grapes fit for classically-constructed, long-lasting wines. This vast region is home to 10,000 wine producers and 57 different AOCs. Red – or ‘Claret’ as it’s known – now comprises 88 percent of Bordeaux wine.

Burgundy produces some of the most regal Grand Cru and Premier Cru wines in the world. With 100 different appellations, myriad individual vineyards and more than 3,000 individual producers, around 15 million cases are produced there annually from 26,500ha of vines. Burgundy has five sub-regions: Chablis in the Yonne department; the Côte de Nuits and Côte de Beaune in the Côte d'Or; and the Chalonnais and Mâconnais in the Saone-et-Loire.

Chablis lies further north than the rest of Burgundy, located about halfway between Beaune and Paris; it’s actually not all that far from Champagne. The wines here – exclusively whites from Chardonnay – differ in style from other white Burgundies: they tend towards steeliness and flintiness.

In 1668, Dom Pérignon is said to have discovered how to make sparkling wine; today his technique is used the world over, although Champagne continues to make some of the finest. France’s most northerly wine region, Champagne is now home to 15,000 growers and 290 ‘houses’. A blend of grape varieties is usually required: white Chardonnay to add fruit and elegance, and two reds – Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – to provide body and backbone.

Wine has been produced in the Rhône Valley for over 500 years, with some of its steeply-terraced vineyards amongst the oldest in France. Syrah rules over the south with a mix of Mediterranean grapes, while in the north the two stars are Hermitage – grown on a granite hillside above the town of Tain and best put to the back of the cellar for a decade – and Côte-Rôtie, a star appellation made famous by Guigal's single-vineyard wines.

Beaujolais is almost entirely planted with the Gamay grape and produces mostly red wines. Around 70 million litres of Beaujolais are produced each year, or two-and-a-half times the entire wine production of the rest of Burgundy. More than half of this is sold as Beaujolais Nouveau, although an Aladdin's trove of gloriously satisfying wines exist amongst the 10 named village crus that occupy a 15-mile strip of granite hills to the north.

Provence is blessed with a Mediterranean climate of warm summers and mild winters. With an annual average of up to 3,000 hours, excessive sun is a concern although the heat is alleviated by the northerly mistral wind, and the risk of fungal diseases is minimal – which makes the region suitable for organic viticulture. It is predominantly known for its rosé wines, which account for over half of Provençal production and are usually dry.