A château (French pronunciation: [ʃɑˈto]; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine countryhouse of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
Nowadays a château may be any stately residence built in a French style; the term is additionally often used for a winegrower's estate, especially in the Bordeauxregion of France.
