Champagne is not just a sparkling wine, but the region from which the famous drink derives its name. The climate of the area is cooler than that of the southern French vineyards, making for a shorter growing season. Almost a hundred miles (144km) northeast of Paris near the Belgian border, it’s usually divided into three parts...
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Australia’s wine efforts date back to the mid-19th century, but the industry languished until about 30 years ago. Since then, the country has grown to be a world producer with a variety of highly regarded whites and reds. With climate regions similar to California, it’s not surprising that much of the product would...
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Midway between Milan and Rome, Tuscany is bordered on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Apennines mountain range in the east. First inhabited by the Etruscans, in the Middle Ages and continuing through the Renaissance, Tuscany developed into a center of the Arts and Learning under the control of the Medici clan. Where no art...
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In the USA, California is justly famous for its wines. So famous, in fact, that it comes as a surprise to some to find out that the State of New York has long been a serious competitor in terms of quality. Winemaking and Wines of the New York region go back centuries. Ten thousand years ago Ice Age glaciers carved out an ideal...
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The Wines of Northern California have had a hard struggle over the last two hundred years. From early Russian colonists planting vines in 1812, to the founding of the wine industry by Spanish Franciscans in 1823, through the problems of Prohibition to today, Californian vintners have made heroic efforts to produce wines that rival...
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The Wines Of South Africa and South African Wine Regions by international standards, are a small producer: only 1.5% of global plantings; slightly over 105,000 hectares (260,000 acres). But recent years have seen significant growth, with over 140 million liters exported per year from 830 million liters produced. South Africa is a...
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Among the AVA (American Viticultural Areas) in Oregon we count the Willamette Valley, Umpqua, Rogue and Illinois Valleys and parts of Walla Walla and the Columbia Gorge shared with Washington. Making wine in Oregon continues to be a challenge, owing to it’s largely rainy climate, limited hours of sunshine, cooler temperatures...
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Most of Canada’s winemaking is associated with British Columbia, and justly so. In the last 20 years the wines of British Columbia have become world-class competitors. But wine is almost made in all of Canada’s provinces, often under much more difficult conditions. And many of these small family businesses are beginning...
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Winemakers in Alsace have been active since the Roman conquest. The Alsatians themselves are a mixed French-Germanic lot, with many of the older inhabitants still speaking Alsatian, a Germanic dialect, at home. Despite living in the smallest winemaking region in France, these proud people rightfully boast of their centuries old...
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Blessed with a Mediterranean climate similar to France or California, Chile has the added advantage of being south of the equator. That puts their summers from November to March, allowing them to harvest wine during the off-season of many other countries. Time shifting allows them to satisfy the market when others can’t. This...
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Wine is fast becoming one of the most popular drinks available anywhere in the world. And, more and more wine lovers want to know more and more about wine grape varieties and where they come from. Wines of the World is here to provide that information.