Bordeaux, in the southwest of France, needs little introduction as one of the world's most famous, prestigious and prolific wine regions. Its three trump cards are diversity, quality and quantity.

The majority of Bordeaux wines (nearly 90 percent of production volume) are the dry, medium- and full-bodied red Bordeaux Blends that established its reputation. The finest (and most expensive) of these come from the great châteaux of the Haut-Médoc and the Right Bank appellations Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. The legendary reds are complemented by high-quality white wines, both dry styles and the sweet, botrytized nectars of Sauternes.

"Bordeaux is France's most important weapon in the wine war. This large, south-western wine region, ruled by the English for 200 years in the Middle Ages, produces more AC wine than any other. About half of all the wine produced in the sprawling Bordeaux region qualifies for its most lowly appellation, simple AC Bordeaux, whose quality varies from vapid red wine to serious, oak-aged, château-bottled liquids made by quality-conscious individuals exasperated at how little money they can get for a wine made outside Bordeaux's superior appellations. Total production is around 900 million bottles a year, dwarfing all other French wine regions except Languedoc-Roussillon. Red wines outnumber white by about 10 to one.