The statistics show that in 1954, the average consumption of wine per year, per person was 104 litres; in 1994 (Foulkes:132) the average consumption per person per year was down to only 67 litres. .
In producing French wine a person should be aware that there are French laws that control such production. These laws allow each bottle of wine to be labelled in a specific manner. The AOC's (Appellation d'Origine Contralée) history did not originate in France; however, the laws according to the AOC for French wines did (Foulkes, 1994:132). The AOC controls mainly how the wine can or cannot be made (Foulkes, 1994:132). Two main aspects of the AOC are that the rules/laws must be local and the AOC must exist in a hierarchy, it must have many levels to it (Foulkes, 1994:132). The AOC has been active in France since 1935 (Foulkes, 1994:132). Once the boundaries are defined and any unsuitable land excluded (which make up an AOC), an AOC further develops to inform people which grapes can be grown, how much wine can be produced, along with the highest strength (alcohol content) it can reach and not exceed (Foulkes, 1994:132). There are three distinct categories of wines within France according to the AOC. Theses include: Vins Délimités do Qualité Supérieure (VDQS), Vins de Pays, and Vins de tables (Foulkes, 1994:134). .
Most of the world's population is aware that France's wine production does not come solely from one area or "departement- of the country, rather, there are several distinct wine regions' within France. These regions include: Champagne, Alsace, Chablis, Burgundy, Jura, Savoie, Sancerre and Pouilly-Sur-Loire, Rhone, Provence, Languedoc-Roussillon, Bordeaux, Cognac, and Loire. I specifically am going to talk about the 3 most common in my opinion; these include, Champagne, Chablis, and Bordeaux. .
I will begin with the Champagne region.