Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 The Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855 resulted from the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, when Emperor Napoleon III requested a classification system for France's best Bordeaux wines that were to be on display for visitors from around the world. Brokers from the wine industry ranked the wines according to a château's reputation and trading price, which at that time was directly related to quality. The wines were ranked in importance from first to fifth growths ("crus"). All of the red wines that made it on the list came from the Médoc region except
South West France (wine region) High Country with barrels of wines being stranded at Bordeaux warehouses for several weeks or months before they could be sold at much lower prices due to that year's market already being saturated with wine. In many years another vintage would actually take place before the "High Country" wines were sold. South West France includes the following Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) and Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure (VDQS) designations. The following grape varieties are commonly found in at least one sub-region or appellation of South West France. South West France (wine region) South West France, or in French "Sud-Ouest", is