Paris and Surrounding Wine Country

There's no wine country surrounding Paris, which is too far north. The nearest wine area to Paris is the Champagne region, around Rheims or Epernay. Burgundy is worth visiting but a couple of hours at least out of Paris by train. You'll need a hire car and a designated driver to explore the region properly.

The Loire is also famous for wine and reasonably close to Paris. I'd suggest either there or Burgundy, with a car and someone to drive if you're going to be tasting (or more). The RS France guide has a lot of info on these areas. Maybe you need more wine-centered stuff to read ahead, all I could suggest is your public library or Amazon. In France, probably including Paris, you'll find beaucoup commercial guides and brochures on wineries in both regions. Unless you're very sophisticated about wine, you won't have trouble finding something to like!

Would probably be a good idea for you to read the 1st post carefully, then look at Rick's France book, and that will give you a better idea of where the various wine regions are with respect to Paris.

You can think about Michelin´s Green Guide “The Wine Regions of France” for some $15.

I think Burgundy is a very good choice for what you describe. Take the train to Beaune and rent some wheels (car or bicycle) to get out to the vines.

Rick's book is not comprehensive but as usual identifies many of the highlights, including some wine sites. You can really just get a map and tour your favorite appellations, which are all towns in the area. There will be caves; you can just follow your nose. There are also tastings and wine bars in Beaune.

I have fond memories of the tasting lunch in Aloxe-Corton.

Logistical note: There is a very early train that goes straight to Charles DeGaulle. If you book an afternoon flight you can catch the train and skip the overnight-in-Paris-to-fly-home routine.

I have found Wil's suggested Michelin book on this subject to be very informative.

The advantage of starting your trip in Paris is that Paris is the rail hub of France. There are many famous wine regions that can be reached from there within no more than three hours by TGV, several of which have been mentioned by other posters above, to which I would add Alsace as another. From your destination, as others have noted, it would be best to rent a vehicle in order to visit the vineyards, they are in rural areas that are not easily accessible by public transport.

As you will be in France for a week with a couple of days in Paris to begin with, choose yourself one wine region, rent a car there (in advance) and stay at just one place as your base to minimise wasting time in travelling from one hotel to another.

As for guidebooks specialising in wines there is the Guide Hachette des Vins, it comes out every year. It's in French (there may be an English version?), it's a no-nonsense guide about wines and vineyards, really concentrating on the wines and specific vintages alone, there is no info on historic sites or anything like that in it.