That is actually quite a complicated question that can't be answered briefly, but if I were restricted to a one word answer, it would be: Burgundy.

One of the reasons I say that is Burgundy's famous red wine, known all over the world as "Burgundy." It's vinified from 100% Pinot Noir grapes and I believe that you'll encounter little or no argument from the average person that a topflight Burgundy is the greatest expression of this hard to manage varietal to be found anywhere in the world, and, it could be argued, the best red wine in the world. It's without a doubt the world's most expensive wine. Which is to say, Burgundy's most prestigious wine, Romanee-Conti, of which only about 450 cases are made per year from grapes grown in the 4.5 acre Romanee-Conti vineyard, is the most expensive wine in the world. The law of supply and demand is certainly at work in this case but, for instance, in 1996, Sotheby's sold a set of eight bottles of 1990 Romanee-Conti for $224,900; which is over $28,000 a bottle for a wine that was produced merely six years earlier! Well, is it actually worth that kind of cash? Well, I wouldn't say so. It seems to me that any person that has that much money to burn could spend it on far more worthy things, but at any rate, here's what wine critic Clive Coates said concerning Romanee-Conti:

"This is the purest, most aristocratic and most intense example of Pinot Noir you could possibly imagine. Not only nectar: a yardstick with which to judge all other Burgundies."

My second reason for claiming that Burgundy is the best wine-producing region in the world is their white wines, the two most prestigious of which are Chablis and Montrachet. White Burgundies are normally called "white Burgundy," and for the most part vinified from 100% Chardonnay grapes. Chardonnay is without question the most popular white wine grape in the world and, according to most wine experts, realizes its finest expression in Burgundy. Montrachet in particular is considered by a large number of wine lovers to be the finest dry white wine produced anywhere. So, Burgundy produces arguably the greatest red wines and white wines in the the world, it seems reasonable to say that it's the place the very best wines come from.

If I had to nominate the finest wine-producing country in the world, I would have to say France. One reason for that choice is the stellar wines of Burgundy, but that's in no way the end of the story. Whilst a lot of wine lovers find Burgundy to be the world's greatest red, that distinction is typically awarded to yet another French wine: Bordeaux, vinified from the renowned "Bordeaux blend" of the indigenous French grapes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc--the first two of which are very popular as varietals in both old and new world wine-producing countries.

France also has one more great white wine-producing region in Alsace. Located on the French side of the Rhine river, Alsace makes some of the world's best Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blancs. And I haven't yet mentioned Champagne, which is literally without peer among the world's sparkling wines. An additional indication of France's dominant influence on the world of wine is the impossible to ignore effect the region has had on new world producers--the States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America are made overwhelmingly from grapes which originated in France.

Add there's even more: thanks to the simple fact that France is, in most years, the world's biggest wine producer (France is eclipsed by Italy in some years ), there are many fantastic French wines available at very affordable prices. A couple of regions to go to for great deals on wine are the Loire Valley and southern France. It's possible to get excellent wines produced in either Of these regions for just $10.00 to $15.00. Actually, you can even get some very decent Bordeaux for quite reasonable prices. In truth, France is full of great wine bargains, for exactly the same reason that it also makes some of the most expensive wines: supply and demand. While most of France's most sought-after wines are in limited supply, the country also makes an astounding amount of excellent wine.

Even though I have already committed myself to the position that the world's greatest wine comes from France, I will nevertheless append two caveats:

1. Italy is an additional pretender to the crown of being the world's best wine-producing nation. Their wine production is on an equal scale with France's, Italy has an incredible variety of indigenous grape types from which they produce lots of exceptional wines in the many micro-climates Italy is blessed with. And an additional asset of Italian wines is that they are quite food friendly. It's generally a challenge to pair French wines with what you're having for dinner, but it's normally a considerably simpler task with Italian wines.

2. Though Bordeaux is thought by a lot of people to be the greatest red wine in the world, it was bested in a head-to-head competition with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, twice. The first time was in 1976 at a blind tasting known as the Judgment of Paris. The eleven judges--nine French, one American and one British--gave marks to the Napa wines, that were vying against some of Bordeaux's most famous wines. A few critics considered the results inconclusive, asserting that the French wines undoubtedly would age far better than their American counterparts. A re-tasting was organized on the thirtieth anniversary of the original tasting in which the same ten wines, which ranged in vintage from 1969 to 1973, were again blind tasted. This time the American wines won convincingly, with the Napa Valley Cabs winning the top 5 positions. So it could be argued that the finest reds in the world come from Napa Valley.

To Sum up, I would say that, on the whole, the finest wine in the world is made in. But that is certainly not the final word on the matter; there are tons more caveats which could be added to the two I mentioned. Quality has been improving year by year in almost every wine-producing region around the world for at least the past twenty years. I personally regularly enjoy wines produced in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, The United States, Chili and Argentina. All of these places make excellent wines, with a lot of them being quite reasonably priced. And there are a slew of places I haven't mentioned which also have interesting, high quality wines. It appears to me that the best way to get a handle on the question, "Where does the best wine come from?" is to get stuck in and start tasting various wines from diverse areas of the world yourself. That may not be the shortest route to finding the answer, but it is without a doubt the most satisfying.

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