Guide to French wine names

Ever wanted to get into French wine but not known where to begin? ⁠Honestly – same. I always found French wine incredibly confusing, and not because the labels are in French! The wine labels are very different to the ones we have here in Australia, and with so many terms, rules and regulations, it can be hard to work out what you are buying! ⁠So I decided to do a beginners guide to French wine names so you can start to understand them.
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I didn’t find I began to understand French wine names until I did my WSET2, and once I got it I felt like a whole new world of wine had been opened up to me! ⁠There are so many parts to French wine and we will only scratch the surface in this article. But what we cover should help cover the basics for you so you can buy with confidence!
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French wine is the epitome of the old world – and as a result, it can be hard to understand the wine labels. But don’t worry! Once you know the basics of how it all works and some terms, you’ll be a pro in no time! ⁠

Guide to French wine: understanding French wine classifications

So where did French wine names come from? Well, it all stems from the concept of terroir. This is the idea that the natural environment in which a wine is produced gives the wine a certain taste and flavour. This dates all the way back to the Middle Ages where Benedictine monks in Burgundy noticed the unique tastes in wines produced in different vineyards.

Then in 1855, emperor Napolean III suggested a classification system for Bordeaux identifying the best wines and vineyards. This led France down a path where in 1935 the French Government established the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) system. This system essentially separated regions geographically to determine where grapes could be grown.

Later, in 1935, the French government established the Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC). This system geographically separated regions where particular types of grapes could be grown. This was meant to guarantee the quality and provenance of French wines.

So French wine names are essential governed by appellations which are a legally defined area where grapes are grown. This is similar to Italian wine names, although much more strict (read more about this in our guide). The AOC, now known as the Appellation d’Origin Protégée (AOP) since 2012, strictly regulates which grapes can be used, minimum alcohol levels, how densely you can plant a vineyard, and how much it can yield.

So what does this mean? Basically, if you read a region on a label, you know what the grape variety is. That’s the really simple version!

The French wine classifications

So now you know what the appellations are based on geography, we can go to the next level. There are three major categories or classes of French wine and each means a different thing:

1.  AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) or Appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC): This means the wine came from a specific regulated region. Each region has its own rules to follow in terms of grapes they can grow, growing conditions and quality. It gets complicated here as some regions have sub-regions and special classifications.

2.  Vin de pays: This is an Indication Geographique Protégée (IGP). It is often a larger area with slightly fewer regulations than AOP. These wines will usually have the grape variety and the zone. These wines are essentially the “country wines” that don’t fall under AOC appellation rules, so have fewer rules for grape type and production methods.

3.  Vin de France: The most basic regional quality labelling term for wines. These wines can be from anywhere in France, or even blend regions. They often have the grape variety on the label. Vin de France is often labelled by grape variety.

The type of wine you’ll see most in bottle shops is usually an AOP. These are what France is known for, and can hold high price tags. Think of the wines of Burgundy or Bordeaux which don’t have the grape variety on the label, but have the place instead. Champagne is also another example and is why nowhere else in the world can sparkling wine be called Champagne unless it is from the Champagne region.

Guide to French wine: other terms to know

Now that you have the basics of French wine names, there are some other useful terms to know. Because the labels are in French (of course) it can be handy to know what terms you might find on the label and what they mean. These are a couple of common words you might find (there are too many to list here but this article has a great full guide).

Some common French wine terms

• Appellation . . . Contrôlée (AOC): You might come across a label with a name between the A and the C of AOC. The word(s) appearing between these two words on the label indicates where the grapes grew.
• Biologique: The wine has been organically produced
• Blanc: A white wine
• Blanc de blancs: means white from whites and indicates a wine made using white grapes only (you’ll often see this on Champagne when it is made using only Chardonnay
• Brut: a term used to indicate that the sparkling wine is a dry style (more on this here).
• Château: Another word for winery
• Côtes: Wines from a slope or hillside that are usually along a river e.g.  Côtes du Rhône
• Cru: Indicates a vineyard or group of vineyards typically recognized for quality
• Cuvée: A term used to denote a specific wine blend or batch
• Domaine: A winery estate with vineyards
• Doux: A term that means the wine is sweet
• Grand Cru: This term is used in Burgundy and Champagne to distinguish the region’s best vineyards. These wines often have a high price tag. More on Burgundy classifications here.
• Grand vin: Used in Bordeaux to indicate a winery’s “first label” or best wine they produce. These are usually the most expensive
• Millésime: Vintage or the year of harvest
• Mis en bouteille au château/domaine: This means the wine was bottled at the winery
• Premiere Cru (1er Cru): Like Grand Cru, this term is used in Burgundy and Champagne to distinguish the region’s 2nd best vineyards. These wines still have quite a high price tag.
• Rouge: A red wine
• Supérieur: A regulatory term commonly used in Bordeaux. This is used for wines with higher minimum alcohol and aging requirements than the base wines of the region.
• Vieille Vignes: This term is used for wines made with grapes from old vines
• Vignoble: This term means vineyard

Guide to French wine: knowing what grape is in what wine

Because French wine names are usually based on the region, it can be hard to know what wine you are actually drinking. If you don’t know which grapes are allowed in that region, how can you tell? Unfortunately, there is no way of telling from the bottle, so you need to know which grapes correspond with which AOP to be able to work it out. Luckily, I’ve pulled together some popular wines for you in this guide to French wine so you can use them yourself!

The other issue you might run into is that each wine region has different labels. But if you know to look for the wine name, and then use the terms above you should be able to work it out! And once you know the basics, you can then start to look for the regions and types of wines that are meant to be the best from each region.

So here’s a little cheat sheet for you so you know what you’re drinking! These are by no means the only wines you will find out of France, but they are some of the more popular ones. So this should give you a good headstart.

In summary: guide to French wine names

This guide to French wine names is by no means a fully comprehensive guide. French wine is seriously complicated, and we’ve really only scratched the surface. But it shouldn’t be as hard as it is to understand, and I think these tips cover the basics. You can definitely get into more detail, but this guide gives you what you need to know to understand the basics. Now next time you’re in a bottle shop, you can explore some of the incredible wines of France with confidence!