The first alcoholic drink from fermented grapes is said to have been 8000 years old, but it is attributed to Georgia, and not to France.
For centuries, Italians were exporting wine to Southern France, but only the wealthy could afford this expensive drink, which was also used for medicinal and religious purposes.
Then some 2500 years ago, the French started planting vineyards in the south of France and learned the art of wine-making from the Italians.
These were the times when the Church was gaining an influence in the affairs of the kingdoms and gradually, it became the largest landowner in Europe.
The Church, between the 8th century and the 18th century, converted huge masses of its land in France into vineyards and gave some of its members (called monks) the task of wine-making.
Monks, who were known for their wisdom, patient temperament, and systematic approach, began centuries-long research, studiously comparing vineyards & their different parts, and developed the concept of ‘terroir’.
Terroir is a French term that suggests that wine is chiefly a product of the physical environment (the soil, the microclimate) in which the grapes are grown and that matching the right grape to the right soil is key to making great wine.
Under terroir, the monks identified differences in wines from different regions, different vineyards, or even different sections of the same vineyard.
Legend has it that some monks went to the extent of ‘tasting’ the soil to compile their observations and to establish the boundaries of different terroirs.
It was this research by monks that continued for around 1000 years that gave France the edge in wine-making.
French monks were also the first to turn still wine into sparkling wine from specific types of grapes grown in the Champagne region – hence this wine was called Champagne.The first sparkling champagne is believed to have been created accidentally. It happened as the monks bottled the wine before the initial fermentation had ended. The pressure in the bottle led it to be called “the devil’s wine”, as bottles exploded or corks popped. At the time, bubbles were considered a fault. Source: Wikipedia.
Another reason for the popularity of French wines is the strict laws on how a wine can be categorized and marketed; a system called Appellation d’origine contrôlée was formed in the 1900s, which specifies (even today) the region in which a given wine must be manufactured.
This means that Cabernet Sauvignon wines cannot be produced in Bordeaux, and, Champagne cannot be produced in any region other than Champagne.
While France is so particular about its wines, new-world producers (50+ countries today produce wine) are said to allow profitability (and not terroirs) to dictate which grapes to plant, and what methods to use to produce wine.
