Winemeister

Wine is usually known primarily under either the region the grapes were grown in (names like [Napa Valley], Bordeaux or Valpolicella) or the type of grape used to make the wine (as in [Chardonnay], [Merlot] or [Malbec]). As a rule of thumb, [Europe] tends to emphasize area of origin and use the names of the regions as the marketing names. This is reinforced by the European Union's labeling laws. Many new world ([America], [Australia], [South Africa]) wine makers tend to use the type of grape as the main marketing distinction next to the geographical one, thus making it a "Californian Chardonnay" or "Chilean Sauvignon Blanc" rather than a "Chateau Peby de Faugeres from the AOC St. Emilion". This page gives a quick overview for the wine growing countries grouped by major world region. For each country, there is a separate page with information about the wine grown there and its known regions.

Europe

France

Known as the largest exporter of wine with roughly 20 mio hl per year shipped abroad, France is contributing to 22% of the world's wine exports. France also has the largest amount of acreage under vines (about 50 mio ha equal to y acres) and is home to a population with one of the highest per-capita consumption of wine in the world (only surpassed by tiny [Luxembourg]).

Italy

Known primarily for its mellow red wines like Chianti or Valpolicella, Italy also has a huge variety of more heavy-weight red wines and interesting white wines that are mostly grown in its northern regions. Italy is home to the second largest area under vines (45 mio ha) and has a yearly export of 18 mio hl or 20% of the international wine trade.

Spain

Despite some up and down movement in the areas used for vineyards, Spain has been the world's third largest wine producer for the last few decades. It's best known wines are strong red [Rioja]s and somewhat lighter red wines from the northern region of [Galicia] and just south of the Pyrrhenee mountains.

Germany

Although Germany is not part of the top three exporters of wine (France, Italy and Spain) and despite the fact that Germany is mostly known for the sweet Rieslings from the [Mosel] region, there are many excellent white wines especially from its lesser known regions like [Pfalz], [Baden] or Franken. Germany is also one of the largest wine importing countries due to its sizable domestic market.

[Portugal]
Best known for its [Port] wines, [Portugal] also has a number of well known regular wines like [Vinho Verde] or [Matteus Rose].

[Greece]
Of today's wine producing countries, [Greece] might be the one with the longest tradition: Archaeologists have found [Amphoras] used for wine storage that date more than 3000 years back. Today Greece does not necessarily rank as one of the world's wine superpowers, but has a nice selection of both red and white wines.

[Turkey]
Despite a substantial area used for growing grapes, [Turkey] does not rank as a major wine production country. Its 565,000 ha of vines (more than the United States) are mostly used for edible grapes and raisin production. Nevertheless, Turkey is also home to some excellent red wines most of which are grown near the Aegaean coast between Izmir and Istanbul.

[Hungary]
Croatia
Slovenia
Austria
Serbia
Ukraine
Georgia
Armenia
Lebanon
Israel
Azerbeijan
Russia
Luxembourg
Only a tiny wine producing country, [Luxembourg] borders Germany and shares some of the wine region along the [Mosel] river. However, Luxembourg wine is virtually unknown outside the country. Luxembourg's claim to international wine fame lies with its consumers: With 63 liter per capita per year, it boasts the highest wine consumption per person of any nation worldwide.

America

United States

Argentina

Mostly known for its dark, velvety red Malbec wines, Argentina benefits from its low humidity, minimal rain, harsh soil and steep slopes - all combining to almost perfect conditions for red wine.
Chile
Canada
Mexico
Asia Africa and Australia
Australia
China
Although it shows up as a top producer in many statistics and certainly has the largest potential domestic market, Chinese wine is rarely seen outside [China]. With a production of 11 mio hl per year and a consumption almost exactly the same size, it seems like there is just nothing left for the rest of us.

New Zealand
South Africa
Tunesia
Algeria
Morocco
India
Thailand
Japan