Monastier Sauvignon Blanc, Cotes de Gascogne

THERE was a time when around 70% of the wine we bought was from France but those days are long gone.

France is well down the volume table nowadays but still has a powerful influence on the world of wine and with good reason.

Chile and Australia may be the two countries we buy most of our wine from but virtually all the wine we drink from those countries is made using French grape varieties. The benchmark wine for almost all those grapes is French.