One could argue that France is the philosophical heart of fine wine. Much of what the world now does, from vineyard practices to winemaking techniques, can be traced back to the viticultural motherland. Here are some must-know terms for exploring the wines of France.

One of the most significant trends happening in Bourgogne today, is a movement towards sustainable, organic and biodynamic viticulture. Due to the warming of temperatures, increase in sunlight and shift in rainy season, there has been less vineyard mildew pressure, drier soil and earlier harvests. This change in climate, combined with the desire for a more ecologically sustainable growing model by Bourgogne producers, has led to the recent trend towards Green Farming.

It's official! We have launched the 7th version of the French Wine Scholar® program! The updated study manual, state-of-the-art e-learning modules, and instructor resources have been carefully enhanced to create the most current program on the wines of France. This newest version is the product of tremendous work from our Education and E-Learning Teams, enabling us to offer students a brand-new experience of our most popular study program. Every aspect of FWS has been

Read the Wine Journalist and Critic, Andrew Jefford’s Keynote Speech to the 2020 Vancouver International Wine Festival in this specially prepared written version for the Wine Scholar Guild blog.  Andrew is happy to respond to any questions or comments you may have about this post. Use the "Comments" feature at the bottom of this page.

Summary Justin catches up with Bordeaux expert and resident Wendy Narby to discuss the ways the region is reinventing itself past the traditional Cabernet/Merlot blends that have made it so famous. Learn how producers are pushing the boundaries of our expectations in Bordeaux, in a quest to stay relevant to a new generation of enthused wine drinkers seeking quality, value and authenticity. Find out more about our Backroads Bordeaux trip

There’s no wine region I enjoy visiting more than Alsace.  It’s beautiful, of course – and not just the half-timbered houses around which a profusion of flowers seem to float, or the grand hillside vineyards romping up to the forested Vosges mountains, always somehow bigger and more imposing in scale than those of Burgundy. The growers are fascinating characters, too, as if their historical and geographical position, wedged between (and much fought-over by) France and Germany, has given them an independence of thought which eludes those with a more settled position in each wine culture.  Then there’s the wines. It’s commonplace to say that Alsace wines are underappreciated -- but it’s true. For me, no white wine region can offer more diversity and intrigue than Alsace, nor does any single regional range of white wines appeal more to my palate...

What is France’s greatest undiscovered wine region? Where do you find the greatest value for money in French wine? Where would you look around France to find potential fine-wine quality at affordable wine prices? Three questions … and from me the same answer to each: South West France.

The vintage chart and harvest report provided by the Wine Scholar Guild give you the ranking for every French wine region and vintage from 2000 to today. The most recent vintage report is published two years following the vintage, i.e. the 2021 vintage report was published in 2023. Andrew Jefford gives us his insight about the 2021 vintage in France. Andrew is an award-winning author and columnist of Decanter and World of Fine Wine, Co-Chair of Decanter World Wine Awards; Vice-Chair of Decanter Asia Wine Awards, gives us 

The 2022 vintage was, in general, a great year for France. Weirdly. Look at the data. It shouldn’t have been: the gauges for both drought and heat were often flashing red. What happened?

In the second part of our three-part series, acclaimed wine writer and critic Andrew Jefford surveys the latest wine trends in Alsace. From larger vineyards to the prospect of Premier Crus — not to mention the impacts of climate change on the region’s bevy of varieties — let’s take a look at Alsace’s recent history and where the region as a whole is headed.

As a wine region, Burgundy embodies both the past and the future. On the one hand, Grands Crus that have been celebrated for centuries remain in the hands of multi-generational family domaines. On the other hand, outside investment, adjustments to the appellation system, and the realities of climate change (which have necessitated adaptations in viticulture and winemaking) have all combined to bring about change in recent years. This duality lies at the heart of modern Burgundy, and here to sort much of it out for us is acclaimed wine writer and critic Andrew Jefford. Below, he takes a look at the numbers that have shaped Burgundy’s recent history, and what that means for its future.