Bordeaux is located in the southwestern part of France and has a total vineyard area of 120,000 hectares. More than 9,000 wineries produce more than 800 million bottles of wine each year, making it the second-largest wine-producing region after Languedoc-Roussillon in the south. Bordeaux mainly produces red wine, accounting for 80% of total production. The remaining 20% is dry white wine, sweet white wine, rosé, and Crémant de Bordeaux. Bordeaux wines are known for their amazing aging ability. The red wines produced by star wineries can last for up to 20 or 30 years, and in good harvest years, they can be aged for up to 50 years. The sweet wine Liquoreux in this region can also last easily for 50 years or more.

Bordeaux is divided by three rivers: the Garonne River to the south, the Dordogne River to the north, which converge into the Gironde River, and the three rivers form a reversed "Y" shape that naturally divides the region into three small areas. The left bank includes important wine-producing areas such as Médoc, Graves, and Sauternes, while star wine-producing areas such as Saint-Émilion and Pomerol are on the right bank. Entre-deux-Mers, which means "between two seas" but actually means "between two rivers," used to mainly produce dry white wine. Nowadays, however, most of the wine produced in this area is red wine.

Bordeaux has a total of 57 A.O.C.s, and Médoc on the left bank can be further divided into eight A.O.C. districts: Haut-Médoc, Listrac-Médoc, Margaux, Médoc, Moulis en Médoc, Pauillac, Saint-Estèphe, and Saint-Julien. All eight AOCs only produce red wine, meaning that even if a winery produces white wine in the designated area, it cannot be included in the AOC of that area. For example, Château Margaux's Pavillon Blanc can only be listed as Bordeaux AOC, not as Margaux AOC. Similarly, Graves to the south of Médoc also has eight A.O.C.s, such as Barsac, which produces sweet white wine, and Pessac-Léognan, which produces both red and dry white wine.

The A.O.C. districts on the right bank include Bordeaux-Côtes-de-Franc, Canon-Fronsac, Côtes-de-Castillon, Fronsac, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Lussac-Saint-Émilion, Montagne-Saint-Émilion, Néac, Pomerol, Puisseguin-Saint-Émilion, Saint-Émilion, and Saint-Georges-Saint-Émilion. In Côtes-de-Blaye, Côtes-de-Bourg, and Premières-Côtes-de-Blaye north of Libourne on the right bank, independent wine regions with a long history of wine-making have emerged.

The red wine grapes in Bordeaux include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Carménère, and Malbec. Only the first four are commonly used in Bordeaux wine, and by law, wineries must blend one or more varieties of grapes in their wine. The right bank is mostly covered in clay, which is more suitable for growing Merlot grapes, while the left bank, with scattered pebbles, is better for Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. Therefore, wineries on both banks use different grape varieties, resulting in two distinct wine styles.

The white wine grapes in Bordeaux include Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle.

Wineries in Bordeaux are usually named after Château, such as Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Latour. Château means "chateau" in French, but in Bordeaux, it refers to grape wine producers who own their vineyards and wine-making facilities. Although many in Bordeaux do have a castle, wineries that do not have a grand building can also be called Château. Wineries must meet the requirements to be called Château, and they cannot be called so randomly. In Burgundy, wineries usually have a small vineyard area, so it is impossible to build winemaking facilities. Therefore, wineries are called Domaine.

Another characteristic of Bordeaux is that wineries' products must be bought and sold by several wine merchants, called Négociant, and cannot be sold directly to consumers, so there are no sole distributors. Although you cannot buy a few bottles of wine as souvenirs when you visit the winery, most wineries welcome visitors for wine tasting. In the following sections on wine, addresses and contact information for each winery are provided. It is essential to make an appointment before planning your visit.