Find Your Perfect French Wine Region

Happy Weekend,

A year ago, I wrote about the French Paradox because so many wine beginners get hung up on understanding French wine.

The more I thought about this question, the more I realized that avoiding France is nearly impossible.

All roads lead to:

• Champagne
• Burgundy
• Bordeaux
• Loire
• Provence
• Rhône

If you shy away from anything French or French-related, your wine growth will be stunted.

So, how can you make learning French wine a slippery slope?

Below is a quick guide to help you dive into the right French region for you.

I’ve kept things extremely simple.

1. Red grapes only
2. Broad generalizations of humans

Please don’t take offense if you don’t fit into a category, you like what you like.

But if you don’t know what you like when it comes to French wine, this will help.

Champagne

Grapes: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier

Ideal for: Bubble enthusiasts, acid heads, high-rollers (and wannabe high-rollers)

Burgundy

Grapes: Pinot Noir

Ideal for: Studious folks who don’t mind spending lots of effort to find value or people with F-U money

Bordeaux

Grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot

Ideal for: Traditionalists, old people, those looking for value

Loire

Grapes: Cabernet Franc, Gamay

Ideal for: Young parents, people who like hip-new restaurants, wanna-be adventurers

Provence

Grapes: Carignan, Cinsaut, Grenache, Mourvèdre

Ideal for: Rosé fans or people who like big, bold reds*
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​*read this not as trophy wives and their husbands, more so people who would sell an organ for some Domaine Tempier

Rhône

Grapes: Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre

Ideal for: People on a budget, people who love QPR (quality/price ratio), people who enjoy eat good, unpretentious fare

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So, if you’re down to be drinking more French wine, which regions sounds most appealing to you?

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Your friendly wine tutor,

Brian