The terroirs of AOCs vary dramatically in size. Some cover vast expanses with a variety of climatic and soil conditions, while others are small and highly uniform. For example, the Côtes du Rhône AOC covers some 75,000 acres (about 30,000 hectares) and 171 villages, making it one of the largest AOCs. However, within its area lies one of the smallest AOCs, Château-Grillet, which occupies less than of land.
