California
California wine is wine made in the U.S. state of California. Nearly three-quarters the size of France, California accounts for nearly 90 percent of entire American wine production. The production in California alone is one third larger than that of Australia. If California were a separate country, it would be the world’s fourth-largest wine producer.
Australia
Vine cuttings from the Cape of Good Hope were brought to the penal colony of New South Wales by Governor Phillip in 1788. The first winemaking attempts failed but with perseverance other settlers managed to successfully cultivate vines for wine making. The first serious selection of vines from France and Spain were brought to Australia by James Busby in 1833. These included Cabernet and Merlot cuttings from Bordeaux as well as Syrah (Shiraz in Australia) and Grenache cuttings from the Rhone. Production and quality of Australian wines were much improved by the arrival of free settlers from various parts of Europe who brought their skills and knowledge to establish some of Australia’s premier wine regions. For example, immigrants from Prussia were important in establishing the Barossa Valley as a winemaking region
Spain, the most widely planted nation in the world, has over 2.9 million acres of vineyards in cultivation. It ranks only third in wine production, however, due to the wide spacing of old vines planted on the dry infertile soil that is found in many wine regions. There are over 600 varieties of grapes planted in Spain though 80% is from only 20 grapes, including Tempranillo, Albarino, Garnacha, Palomino, Airen, Macabeo, Carinena and Monastrell.
South African wine has a history dating back to 1659, and at one time Constantia was considered one of the greatest wines in the world. Access to international markets has unleashed a burst of new energy and new investment. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and production centres at Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester. There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards. WO wines must be made 100% from grapes from the designated area. “Single vineyard” wines must come from a defined area of less than 5 hectares. An “Estate Wine” can come from adjacent farms, as long as they are farmed together and wine is produced on site. A ward is an area with a distinctive soil type and/or climate, and is roughly equivalent to a European appellation.
The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has several different growing regionswithin the state’s borders which are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.
American Viticultural Areas entirely within the state include the Willamette Valley, Southern Oregon, Umpqua Valley, and Rogue Valley AVAs. Parts of the Columbia Gorge, Walla Walla Valley, and Snake River Valley AVAs lie within Oregon. Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris are the top two grapes grown, with over 16,000 tons (14,515 metric tons) harvested in 2005. As of 2005, Oregon wine makers produced over 1.5 million cases combined.
Italy is home to some of the oldest wine producing regions in the world. The Etruscan and Greek settlers produced wine long before the Romans started developing their own vineyards. Today Italy accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world wine production levels even exceeding those of France, making Italy the world’s top producing nation. Italy also leads in consumption. Citizens there consume over 59 liters per capita annually. Compare that to the USA at 7.7 liters per capita.
Greece is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. The earliest evidence of Greek wine has been dated to 6,500 years ago where wine was produced on a household or communal basis. In ancient times, as trade in wine became extensive, it was transported from end to end of the Mediterranean; Greek wine had especially high prestige in Italy under the Roman Empire. In the medieval period, wines exported from Crete, Monemvasia and other Greek ports fetched high prices in northern Europe.
Germany
German wine is primarily produced along the Rhine River and its tributaries. Total vineyard area is around 10% of Italy or Spain and the country ranks 8th in world production, of which around 60% is white wine. Early German viticulture dates back to the Romans sometime between the 1st and 4th century AD. Although we think sweet when we think of German wines, it is thought that the first wines were made in a drier, or trocken, style, primarily because the techniques to stop fermentation didn’t exist.
In 1775, because of the two week delayed arrival of a courier carrying harvest permission, the first documented late-harvest or Spatlese wine was produced at the Schloss Johannisberger in the Rheingau. Following this event, wines infected with the “noble rot” were produced intentionally. The subsequent differentiation of these late harvested wines into additional categories, starting with Auslese in 1787, laid the groundwork for the pradikat system. In 1971 most of the current German wine law was introduced and defined the pradikat designations as they have been since then.
The first wines from Germany to reach broad acceptance in the USA were made in the low alcohol, sweeter style with no oak. The best of the wines were made from the Riesling variety. Recently much more wine is being made trocken, which is the favored style of the wines sold domestically in Germany.
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France
France is the 2nd largest nation in total vineyard area and competes with Italy for the position of world’s largest producer. Two concepts that are central to the higher quality French wines are the notion of “terroir” which links the style of the wine to a specific location where the grapes are grown and vinified and the Appellation d’Origin Controlee (AOC) system. Appellation regulations restrict grape varieties and wine making practices that are allowed in each of France’s geographically defined appellations, which can cover regions, individual villages or specific vineyards.
Chile
The Spanish Conquistadors brought the first vitis vinifera (European wine grapes) vines to Chile in the 16th century. French wine varieties such as cabernet and merlot were introduced in the mid 18th century. Prior to the phylloxera outbreak in Europe, Don Silvestre Errazuriz imported cabernet franc, malbec, sauvignon blanc and Semillon from Bordeaux. He hired a French enologist to oversee his planting and produce wine in the Bordeaux style. For a while it seemed that Chile was on course to becoming the leading fine wine producer in the New World. Political instability in the 20th century combined with bureaucratic regulations and high taxes tempered the growth of the Chilean wine industry. Then beginning in the 1980’s, an awareness of Chile’s favorable condition for viticulture increased. As a result, foreign investment increased. This period saw many technical advances in winemaking as Chile earned a reputation for reasonably priced premium quality wines. Chile is currently the 9th largest producer of wine in the world.
