If you’ve ever wanted to learn about French wine and the culture surrounding it, the Wine Terroirs blog would be a perfect place to start.

The French word terroir (not to be confused with “terror”!) refers to the natural environment, soil, and climate in which a particular wine is produced. It comes from the word terre, meaning “land.” Wine Terroirs will teach you all about this, and could probably answer any question you have about wine. The blog is run by French freelance writer and photographer Bertrand Celce, who describes (in English) his adventures in viticulture.

As he travels around France, Celce visits vineyards, attends wine tastings, and generally immerses himself in wine culture. His blog contains countless articles, all of which feature his own beautiful photography.

Below, you can find a link to one of his articles featuring the history of wine. Entitled “Winery in a Cave”, the article discusses French wine-making over the years. He opens by discussing the remains of a wine cave in the Loire Valley, and says that “you can find remains like these in the backyard of virtually every old farm in France, because not so long ago almost everyone living in the villages across the country would make some wine for his own consumption… It was common then to own a couple of rows and make a few barrels of wine for oneself, like your forefathers had done before you.” Who knew?

The article continues on to detail Celce’s visit to an old wine cave, and takes the reader on a visual tour using Celce’s photographs. He describes the wine-making process, and shows all of the necessary equipment. The article offers the reader an inside look at the history of French wine-making.

Scrolling through Celce’s articles, one gets the impression that he’s been to every wine region of France, as well as the wine regions of various other countries. He’s a thoroughly knowledgable writer, and a gifted photographer.

To learn more about French wine, check out his blog.