Vineyards: 117000 ha in 60 Appellations, belonging to 22,000 estate owners (of which 8000 are winemakers) producing about 6 million hectolitres of wine yearly (the equivalent of 700 million bottles) with sales of more than 3 billion Euros. While output varies significantly among the brands, from just 30,000 bottles in the case of Chateau Petrus to 200,000 bottles in the case of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, the best will not exceed 6000 bottles per hectare of vines. 70 percent of the production is sold through wine merchants, nearly half of the winemakers are members of cooperatives responsible for a quarter of the total production, and after all, 10 percent of the companies make 90 percent of the sales.

Until 1969 the majority of the production was white wine, today whites cover just 11 percent of the planted surface area while 89 percent are reds.

Main grape varieties:

Although red Bordeaux wines are often referred and compared to Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlot is by far the most important grape variety with 63 percent of the planted surface area. Cabernet Sauvignon contributes 25 percent, Cabernet Franc 11 percent and others, like Petit Verdot and Malbec, just 1 percent. The composition depends on the wine, though, a Chateau Mouton-Rothschild (Pauillac) is made of appr. 85 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and just 5 percent Merlot, while Chateau Petrus (Pomerol), of comparable quality, relies to 95 percent on Merlot.

Among the white Bordeaux wines, Semillion covers 53 percent, Sauvignon 38 percent, Muscadelle 6 percent, 3 percent are other varieties.