Did you know that 10 million people visit the vineyards of France each year? It is not hard to believe when you observe the touristic interest in wine regions such as Champagne, Alsace or Bordeaux. A few mornings ago the postman delivered a small parcel in my mailbox. It contained the new IGN Wines of France Map. It gathers a wealth of oenological and touristic information. It’s also about a map that inspires discovery.
The new IGN Wines of France Map
The IGN Wines of France map was designed in close collaboration with editor Benoît France, author of the Great Atlas of the Vineyards of France and permanent secretary of the “Académie du vin de France”.
It was republished in 2017 on the scale of 1/1 000 000 (1 cm = 10 kms). The road map shows the names and locations of the wine regions and subregions of continental France (including Corsica).
Once the accordion-style map is unfolded, you can apprehend the locations of the French wine regions. They are shown in bright colours: pink for the wines of the Champagne and Provence regions, green for those from Burgundy or Bordeaux.
All the vineyards of France
So we checked out the map to make sure it had every vineyards in France. For this, I have my own trick. I check that the small vineyards are there. In the North-East of France, we have a few small wine districts in Lorraine, little known by the French. Are they found on the IGN Wines of France map? Let’s see… YES they are! The côtes de Toul (from the south to the north of Toul), as for the Moselle wines, have not been forgotten.
All the great vineyards of northeastern France are represented. The wines of Champagne, Lorraine, Alsace and Burgundy, without forgetting the yellow wines of the Jura.
More than a road map
But that’s not all! The IGN Wines of France map is not only a simple road map showing the geographical location of the French vineyards. It’s also a source of oenological data that amateurs and curious people will enjoy.
You’ll find a wine list by terroir. The designations of origin are highlighted with one or several pictograms of different colours and/or shapes. Therefore the couleur (white, pink, red) corresponds to that of the white, rosé and red wines. The texture of the wine is referred to a square for « wines », a triangle for the « sparkling wines » and a round for « natural sweet wines ».
And for those of you who are not familiar with the grape varieties, the map features a small glossary in English with a few insights for ten red grape varieties and ten white grape varieties.
The only thing that’s may be missing from the map are the locations of regions for liquors, wine spirit, and grape marc spirit. But that shouldn’t prevent you from discovering the great wine regions of France!
Get your copy of the map on the IGNrando’ site
To order your copy of the IGN Wines of France Map, go to the site of the boutique IGNrando’. When you place your order before the 31st August 2017, get free postage with the code FRENCHMOMENTS (with the exception of old maps, personalised maps and relief maps) You will find in the store several other road maps on the topic of wine, including the map of the Bordeaux wines (scale 1/125 000).