It is difficult to think of wine without France, or vice versa. Many wine regions, with famous ones like Burgundy and Champagne, had in earlier times having the names are ‘borrowed’ in other locations. Vines were once grown much more widely, but because of phylloxera, urbanization, and changing tastes in the north, and incentives to reduce vine-growing in the south, is now reduced considerably.
France is uniquely well-positioned with the influence of Atlantic and Mediterranean, as well as the continent to the east, plus a rich variety of soils than other countries. The system to define, classify, and control the vineyards is also started here, with more details and longer history.
It all started with the AOC in the 1920s, which restricts the use of a geographical name to wines made in precisely specified area. The law also stipulates which varieties, maximum yield, minimum ripeness, how vines are grown, and to a certain degree how wine is made. However, whether the AOC is a good measure, or unnecessary restrictive to experimentation, is debatable.
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