Piedmont (in Italian, Piemonte) takes its name from the Latin roots for the words “foot” and “mountain,” in this case a vast rolling land that spreads out from its base at the Alps. Photo from Michael Heintz on unsplash

The Veneto produces alone, of Italy’s 20 regions, fully one-fourth of all Italian DOC and DOCG wine. Photo from Alberto Caliman on unsplash

Tuscany and its wines are as familiar to English-speaking folk as they are to the Tuscans themselves.

If you envision the whole of Bordeaux as an outstretched right hand, the Médoc would be the thumb. Photo from Pierre Ducher on unsplash

The Romans planted vines in St.-Estèphe, although the area did not flower commercially until the 18th century and the establishment of most of the well-known châteaux. Photo from Angell Guillèn on unsplash

At 13,500 acres of vineyard (and an annual output of around 33 million bottles of red wine), St.Émilion is the largest fine winemaking area of Bordeaux.

Though commonly and universally known as St.-Julien, the full name of the commune is St.-Julien Beychevelle, the names of the two very small villages that tie the commune together historically. Photo from Angell Guillèn on unsplash

Alsace has been doing something for decades that nearly all other winemaking areas of the world just recently have caught onto: allow both the grapes and the soil on which they grow to express themselves in the purest way possible.

Languedoc is France’s largest single vineyard area (in fact, at 650,000 acres, the globe’s).

Though the Mâconnais produces red wines, it is best known for its whites, the better ones coming from the Chardonnay grape.

Oregon produces Pinot Noir that makes even Burgundians turn their heads.

Good red Burgundy may be the only wine that can send shivers up your spine. Wines such as red Bordeaux or California Cabernet Sauvignon can be great—but really good red Burgundy can be ravishing.

Bordeaux is to France what Napa Valley is to California. It’s a case of the little area making the big area famous. Photo from Angell Guillén on unsplash

Rhone wines, 80 percent of which are red, long have been known for their strength and color. Their dramatic power is little equaled in French red wine. Photo from Brett Jordan on unsplash

The town of Saumur, along the River Loire, makes both red and white wines. Photo from Lea Deleligne on unsplash

Comté, like Gruyère and Beaufort, other “Alpiine” cheeses to which it is related, is a cooked-curd, pressed, and hard-aged cheese.

Never mix anything with wine but love.

When buying French Champagne, read the fine print. The very fine print.

The beneficial mold, Botrytis cinerea (the “noble rot”; in French, “pourriture noble”), affecting grapes in the Sauternes region of Bordeaux, France. Photo from Edwin on flickr.

Champagne—properly considered—comes only from Champagne, France. We use the word “champagne” to mean any wine with bubbles, but we've just borrowed the name. Sure, not all the good sparkling stuff is French—but all the good stuff is made like Champagne.