French Wine

French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, on over 800,000 hectares (over 2 million acres) of vineyards, and in a typical year between 50 and 60 million hectolitres of wine is produced, or some 7 to 8 billion bottles. France thus has the world's second-largest total vineyard surface (behind Spain) and competes with Italy for the position of having the world's largest wine production.

Over the last several hundred years, France has been the most influential country in the wine world: France is the source of more well-known grape varieties (such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah) and winemaking practices than any other country, the names of many French wine regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne are well-known throughout the world, and the style of top French wines have long been the benchmark for winemaking in most wine-producing countries of the world.