Rule 1: Open your mind. French Cabernet marches to a different drummer than the New World interpretation. If you are looking to reinforce your current notions about wine, you are wasting your time and money.

Rule 2: Ask a wine professional for a recommendation. Sommeliers in wine shops and restaurants have done a tremendous amount of research to bring you high quality wines. Be prepared to tell them what you would like to experience. This is especially true if you are about to drop €20+ on a bottle.

Rule 3: Set aside several hours, if possible, to allow the wine to breath and express itself fully. French wine is alive and takes time to open up and reveal its secrets. 24 hours is not too long to keep a good bottle open.

It makes sense to Begin your education where the châteaux sprawl like suburbia. This is Bordeaux, a land drenched in Merlot and Cabernet. If you prefer bold, structured wines with tannins for days, look for a Paulliac, St. Estèphe, or Haut Medoc. More delicate, feminine wines define Margaux, St. Emilion, Pomerol and Pessac Leognan. In all these you should expect balanced, dry wines, with flavors of cedar, toast and leather highlighting cassis (blackcurrant), cherry, or blackberry flavors. Veggies often feature as well and are not a flaw. Red and green peppers, mushrooms, and herbs can contribute to a wine's food-friendliness. Several hours will do wonders for an open bottle, so expect a somewhat awkward first impression. Vintages are very important here; look out for wines from 2000 or 2001 which, if well-made, are more likely to be softened and open. 2005 is the vintage of the decade, and are remarkably approachable even in their youth. Don't be frugal with Bordeaux, you should expect to pay at least €15 and an expert recommendation is advisable.

Burgundy is the easiest region to paint with broad brushstrokes. It is all or nothing Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. Behind the seductive, uniform bottles wait equally seductive rose-tinted reds and golden whites. A sip of a great burgundy should be like a dysfunctional relationship, never boring, never too satisfying, and always keeping you guessing. Streaks of acid and stones frame strawberries and cherries in the reds, and lemon, lime, apple and apricot in the whites. Extreme caution is advised; Burgundy is a minefield and should be approached with some hesitation. No wine region on the planet makes as much lazy, overpriced swill, but when its done right, no region can match its finesse. Even the laziest wine makers made good wine in 2005, however, so buy one if you can find it.

There isn't nearly enough space on this page to do the Alsace justice. Even if you think you don't like white wine, you'll find a sprocket soul mate in one of these tall slim bottles of nectar. Riesling marvels with its acidity and balance, Gewürtztraminer satiates with its soft tropical fruit core and tart edges, while Pinot Gris brings a fruit bomb to the table. Pay the extra money for a €12-15 grand cru; the difference is remarkable and the experience will be memorable. If you can make the trip over, no wine region in France offers a more charming, friendlier wine route for the tourist.

Are you hedonistic? Do you dream of wines that grab you by the palate and shake some sense into it? If so, you'll love the wines of the Northern Rhone. 100% Syrah in these parts is not groomed like an Australian poodle, its caged like a pitbull and raised on red meat. It is a wine where hot road tar, roasting coffee, and water-starved mediterranean weeds bully the fruit for their lunch money. If you decide to roll with one of these bad boys, there's no turning around. You'll have to pay between €20-30 to gain entry to a classic Côte Roti, Hermitage or Cornas, but the show will rock you. The latter is the best value of the bunch while the former is generally recognized as the flagship and is sometimes blended with white Viognier to create a lovely feminine wine with unrivaled aromatics. Vintage and age are important considerations here as well, with young wines often too tannic and brawny for the unitiated. 2004 is one of the best vintages in the last decade, but is still quite young. You may have to reach back to 1998 or 1999 for one that has come of age.

Voted "Best Personality" in France's wine yearbook, the Loire will surprise you with wines covering the spectrum from white to red, dry to sweet. Most are good value, approachable, often memorable wines, but the region's size, diversity, and understated nature makes it a difficult one to wrap your head around. Perhaps tonight is the night for a flight. Prices make this entirely practical and the Loire's status as the darling of Paris makes the wines readily available and cheap. In one corner you'll have a good Sancerre white in the €12-15 range. These are bold, austere whites at their best, dry like a stony riverbed and tart like a key lime pie. Some of the world's finest expression of Sauvignon Blanc comes from this hilltop village. In another corner you should have an aromatic rosé from Anjou. You shouldn't have to spend more than €8 for one, but these can be incredible wines. Lastly, finish off the flight with a €12 Chinon or Saumur Champigny. Cabernet Franc grown on the limestone shelves here produces a rich, purple juice that will stain your grill for days. Saturated with dark fruits like black currant, blueberry and boysenberry, laced with lively acids, and often reeking of stewed veggies, these great value reds are consistently interesting and intriguing wines. Again, 2003 - 2005 were great years in this region.

  The volume of good to excellent wines pouring out of the Southern Rhone these days is just silly. Grenache is the major player and when paired with a bit of Syrah, Mourvedre and Cinsault for character and balance, it can have all the elegance and structure of wines from the more noble regions of France at a fraction of the price. This evening is all about choices. Do you go with a very good 7-10 Euro bottle of Côtes du Rhone, an Excellent €10 - 20 bottle of Gigondas or Côtes du Rhone Village such as Rasteau, or do you make another trip to the cash machine and drop 20 - 30 on an outstanding Châteuneuf-du-Pape? To admire the incredible potential of the region it has to be the latter. These wines are more likely to remind you of the juicy New World fruit bombs back home. Rarely too challenging, but always richly satisfying, CdP has emerged as a must try on any tasting tour-de-France. Whatever your choice, you will slide into tonight's wine like Corinthian leather. Let the jammy fruits relax you and key in on the subtle spices and fresh cut cedar. Violets, garrique (aromatic native vegetation) and toffee are likely to make an appearance as well. Another reason why this region is shining is that it has enjoyed a string of great vintages from 2003 to 2007. They do vary in character, but all are great years.

While floating around on France's great wine lake, it can be hard to discern one appellation from the next. Making matters even more bewildering are the vin de pays that fill every nook of arable land between these recognized areas. I'm referring to the Deep South, the Languedoc, Roussillon, Pyrenees and Gascony. Wines from these regions vary tremendously from silky smooth Coteaux de Languedoc to tannic muscle-bound beefcakes from Roussillon and Cahors. When taken as a whole, however, the wines tend to be on the beefy side, so why not go with this theme and pick a wine from an area that is arguably France's best kept wine secret, the Roussillon. These wines are the quirky Old World at its most affordable. If you don't dig it, you aren't out that much dough, and can still probably afford the almost guaranteed pleasure of a good Côteaux de Languedoc. Choose a Côtes du Roussillon or Roussillon Village from €10 - 15 that is biodynamically farmed. This seems to be common and ensures you are buying from a winemaker who cares about his or her wine. With their big tannins, these Grenache Noir wines will dry your mouth out like a piece of raw hide, and replenish it again with juicy berry and meat flavors. Mixed nuts are likely to show up, along with almost any other flavor you can think of. Experiments with oak show that these are more interesting without it. The oak tends to defocus them and make them taste like any other wine, which is not what you came to France for.

When the week is over, you won't be an expert on French wine, but you should come away with an appreciation for the incredible diversity and quality on offer. If you are looking for a French version of your favorite coffee-house wine, you know the one I'm talking about, the cherry vanilla mocha latte with a blackberry jam shooter, then save your money and keep a few of those waiting for you on your return. Remember, drinking French wine is like hanging out with the alternative kids. They may not always be pretty or easy to figure out, but they're a heck of a lot more interesting.