French Wine
When you think of wine, you think of France. And with good reason: they make the most wine, they drink the most wine (although, per capita, Luxembourg drinks more. But you would, too, if you lived in Luxembourg) and they invented Champagne.
In France, what's grown isn't nearly as important as where it's grown. Counterintuitive as this may sound there's a method to the madness-- France knows its climate. France has had centuries to learn what goes best in it and France doesn't like to change a winning thing.
This is reflected in France's wine classification system:
- Appelalation d'Origine Contrôlée (AC) are wines from a region, and of a variety, that the government recognizes as consistently excellent. This label also denotes that the production methods are the most traditional. Less than one wine in a hundred is even considered for this designation.
- Vin de Pays means that the wine comes from a specific area, one reknowned for excellent wines. These wines are less strictly regulated than AC wines, and can offer excellent value for the price.
- Vin de Table means that the wine is acceptable for sale in France. This is more difficult a status to obtain than one might think.