Is food and wine a reason to build a France trip around?
Yes. France is often best when meals shape the route: Paris bakeries, Lyon markets, Provence produce, Burgundy wine, Brittany seafood, Alsace winstubs and simple regional places that make another monument unnecessary.
Answer
A food-led France trip does not need to mean expensive restaurants every night. It can mean choosing Lyon over another rushed city, sleeping near a Provence market, spending a day in Burgundy or Champagne, eating seafood on the Atlantic, or letting Alsace explain itself through wine and hearty regional cooking. Food is also a way to slow the itinerary down. A good lunch, a market morning and a bottle chosen nearby can do more for the trip than another long transfer to a famous sight.