Wine itself is almost synonymous with French wine - and that is perfectly understandable. The country of France is to this day considered the epicenter of premium wine production. France’s influence on wine extends beyond it’s borders with almost all of the grapes use in wine production around the globe having originated from France. The link between wine and France runs deep.

• French Wine Country
• French Wine Country Tours
• French Wine Regions

France has many famous varieties of wine. The deep reds of Burgundy and Bordeaux, the white wine varieties of Alsace and not forgetting the most famous of all; champagne. Champagne is the most sought-after of sparking white wines. Champagne has been there for all of the great and memorable events in people’s lives. We toast one another with champagne on New Year’s Eve, on birthdays, on anniversaries. Champagne and celebration are completely intertwined — you can’t have one without the other.

Champagne’s origin can be traced back over 350 years. It isn’t a well-known fact, but actually champagne was discovered because wine spoils. Slow fermentation of the delicate and high-acid wines is interrupted by subzero temperatures during the winter months. Then, as the weather gets warmer during the summer, the yeast that were dormant during winter comes back to life and begins feeding on the sugars leftover from uncompleted fermentation. At the same time, carbon dioxide gas that was formed during fermentation has no escape, so it dissolves into the wine creating the bubbles that have made Champagne what it is.

Champagne takes it’s name from the region in France in which it was created; Champagne. This region is situated in the cooler region of France in the north-east close to Alsace and not far from Paris.

The world owes a great deal of gratitude to the country of France for wines of all descriptions. It is almost impossible to imagine our lives without it?