(Wanderlust) - These premier wine-producing regions offer extraordinary landscapes, intriguing history and the best wines in the world. What more could a wine-loving traveller ask for?

1: Languedoc, France

Languedoc-Roussillon (often called "the Languedoc") is a historic coastal region in southern France that's responsible for more than a third of France's total wine production. The peak growing season (between May and August) is very dry and the majority of annual rainfall occurs during the winter. In the Languedoc, the plains area is the hottest and most arid region of France.

It is also one of the most varied areas in the country. Stretching from the Mediterranean coast and the Pyrenees in the south to the Cevennes National Park in the north, it is a land of beaches, mountains and tranquil countryside. There are reminders of the region’s long and turbulent history everywhere.

On the coast, you’ll find big beaches, vast wetlands and intriguing cities, such as like Montpellier, with its well-preserved medieval quarter, and Nîmes, famous for its Roman ruins. Pont Du Gard aqueduct, one of the most spectacular Roman engineering achievements still standing in Europe, is here too. Inland sits the medieval fortified city of Carcassonne and the Cathar castles of Queribus and Peyrepertuse. To the north, the wild high country is a land of forests, caves and gorges, including Gorges du Tarn.