In France, there are four legal "ranks" or ratings of French wine, which serves as a good indicator of its relative quality and pricing.

The ranking usually appears on the label, and indicates (from highest to lowest) the general status of the wine. "Appellation Contrôlée" (AOC or AC) ratings are the highest grade best French wine.

"Vins Délimités de Qualité Supérieure (VDQA) ratings translate to "demarcated wine of superior quality." "Vins de Pays" ratings essentially mean "country wines", and is usually followed on the label with the name of the area the grapes are from.

And lastly, "Vins de Table," French table wines that have no region, vintage or grape variety indicated on the label.

Whether red or white, most French wines are named after the regions they originate from, contrary to other nations that prefer emphasizing the grape varietals. This works primarily because each region specializes in the production of different types of wines and flavors.

Though there are ten wine producing regions in France, the major wine areas in France include: Burgundy (Pinot Noir, Gamay and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot) the Loire Valley and Alsace (Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris), the Rhone Valley (Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Muscat), and Champagne (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay).
Quite simply, areas producing the best French wine.

A recent research showed that in general the best French wine with higher ratings tended also to be those with higher prices. But using that as your barometer to finding the best French wine isn’t always the case. A bottle of Cheval Blanc in general will be a better experience than some cheap bottle, but, the beauty of finding the best French wine comes with time, after testing and sampling.