France produces more fine wines than any other country in the world. This fact alone has elevated some French wines to almost mythic status. Indeed, French wine-making techniques and viticultural practices, even French grape varieties, have been adopted by wine regions around the whole world. Like French food, French wine has been (and largely remains) the benchmark against which greatness elsewhere is judged.

Karen MacNeil - The Wine Bible
Karen MacNeil is presently Director of the Wine Program at the Culinary Institute of America, in Napa Valley, California.