The name Bordeaux evokes images of beautiful Chateaux and expensive wine, both of which are true. Bordeaux makes some of the most sought after wine in the world such as Mouton-Rothschild, Château Latour and Château Margaux. The region has a long winemaking history, with scribblings of the first wine critic, Pliny, dating back to AD 77. The real history making began in 1855 when Bordeaux was the first wine region to lay boundaries and classifications of their wine, creating the groundwork for the AC system, used all over France today and emulated in all other wine producing countries. The Gironde river flows inland from the Atlantic, splitting in two (called the Garonne and the Dordogne) around the town of Lamarque. Between the two rivers is a white wine region called "Entre deux Mers" ("between two seas"), and delicious grassy whites are made from Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon. West of the Gironde lie the important red wine ACs of : St- Éstephe, Pauillac, St-Julien, and Margaux. The wines here are dominated by Cabernet Sauvigon and blended with Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Southeast, on the "right bank", are the important wines of St Emilion and Pomerol. In Pomero, you find the exquisite winery of Château Petrus (the most expensive wine in the world). On the Right bank, wines are dominated by merlot as opposed to Cab Sauv. Further south, west of the Garonne, the important sweet wines of Sauternes are produced, Château d’Yquem being the most highly regarded.

The gorgeous town of Avignon lies at the southern end of the famed Rhône wine region. The Rhône is divided into "northern" and "southern" sub-categories. The northern Rhône produces nearly all red wine , from the spicy Syrah varietal. The great Rhône communes include Côte Rôtie , St-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, and Cornas. The southern Rhône’s most famous wine has got to be Châteauneuf-du-Pape, located just north of Avignon and named after the "Pope’s new castle" ....... Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines are mainly red and extremely rich, made with Syrah and up to 13 permitted grape varietals, which tend to be limited to Grenache and Mourvèdre but can include Terret Noir, Picpoul Noir, Cinsault and Counoise. Other top quality ACs in southern Rhône are Gigondas, Cairanne and Vaqueyras , Tavel and Lirac and Rasteau and Beaumes-de-Venise. Famed producers of the south include Château de Beaucastel and Château de Saint Cosme.