It is also a global wine powerhouse, and home to four of the world’s most prestigious wine villages: Pauillac, Margaux, Saint-Estèphe and Saint-Julien.

The estates located in these villages produce some of the world’s most expensive bottles. The region also provided all but one (Haut-Brion) of the châteaux included in the official 1855 Classification of Bordeaux wines.

There are around 16,000 hectares (39,500 acres) of vineyards within the wider Médoc region, including the various smaller appellations. Around 5500ha (13,600 acres) of vines are classified for production of Médoc AOC/AOP wines.

Wedged between the Atlantic coastline and the broad Gironde estuary, the Médoc is effectively a peninsula. It extends 80 kilometers (50 miles) north-westwards from Bordeaux city to the Pointe de Grave. Together with the Graves and Pessac-Léognan – to the south of the city – it makes up what is known as the Left Bank of the Bordeaux region.