French Winemaking Terroir

The soil (or origin) is characterized by the environment in which the vines grow: soil; subsoil; exposure; climate; cultural practices by: grape variety; type and planting size of the vineyard and by oenological practices: type of wine and choice of wine aging. In countries such as France the last two points, cultivation and vinification are of great importance due to tradition and history.

Wine producers in France greatly diversify the possibilities offered by environmental factors (sunlight, humidity, quality of land) and are less committed to the tradition that searches for new techniques, producing wines of great quality.

In France, the land may be associated with one or more varieties (examples: Bordeaux; Cabernet or Merlot; Burgundy and Black Pinot or Chardonnay). The properties are usually the domain name in Burgundy and chateaux in the Bordeaux region or farmhouses in southern France. Some of these names are regulated, some are not.

Appellations
Books and books of names

The terroir in wine around the wide world are often protected by a system of appellations first established in France by the law of 1^st August 1905 and that other countries tend to imitate.  Regarding the EU wine are two designations:
Table wines: wines-compliant and suitable for consumption
The VQPRD: Quality Wines Produced in a Delimited Region
French wines are classified according to this classification. The body responsible for checking names is INAO, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The French classification is as follows: