Wine Regions of the World

Italy

Among the largest wine producers in Europe is Italy; here are vines from the Alpine country down to Sicily, on only sporadically interrupted vineyards. The vine was probably brought to Italy by the Greeks in 1000 BC. From Rome, with the conquests of the Romans, the vine migrated to most parts of...

France

France is considered the motherland of viticulture as well as of great wines, although the country has to share this status with Italy. But the fact is that here, too, the history of viticulture goes back several thousand years, beginning long before the time of the Romans. In the south of France,...

Germany

Winegrowing in Germany, as in other European winegrowing countries, goes back primarily to the Romans, who brought the vine from the Rhone on their campaign through Gaul to the Moselle. Officially, Emperor Probus is considered the "father" of German viticulture, who expressly allowed Gauls,...

Austria

The history of Austrian viticulture dates back to 3000 BC, as evidenced by the discovery of grape seeds in Krems. For a long time, viticulture in the country was rather quiet, until the wine scandal of 1985 brought a positive break from today's point of view, because in the following period, a...

Switzerland

With about 8.6 million inhabitants and an area of about 41,300 square kilometers, Switzerland is one of the smallest countries in Europe, but nevertheless has a lot to offer in terms of viticulture. The history of Swiss viticulture can be traced back to 800 BC. Of course, the country was also...

Spain

Spain is the largest wine-growing country in the world in terms of vineyard area, but in terms of the quantities of wine produced it ranks only third behind Italy and France. One of the reasons for this is that traditions still play a major role in Spain, despite today's very dynamic and modernised...

United States

South Africa

The history of viticulture in the charming landscape of South Africa may still seem young but for the New World it is already one of the older ones. Dutch emigrants brought the vine to South Africa and produced wine primarily for the sailing ships on their long voyage to and from India, which made...

Portugal

Viticulture in Portugal looks back on a long history and has undergone a great development over a long period of time, somewhat unnoticed by the wine-loving public. Phoenicians and Greeks already cultivated wine here, before the Romans took the reins and exported the wine from Portugal to Rome and...

Australia

Australia's wine-growing history is one of the youngest in the New World, beginning only towards the end of the 18th century. Until the 1970s, viticulture "Down Under" grew steadily but rather modestly, but then literally exploded in the 1980s. While there were about 500 active wineries until 1985,...

New Zealand

At the end of the 1980s, New Zealand gained sudden fame in Europe for its Sauvignon Blanc, which today enjoys cult status, and is known as Cloudy Bay! And with this variety, New Zealand's rapid rise among the world's top wine producers began, and Sauvignon Blanc developed into the benchmark par...

Argentina

As in all wine-growing countries of South America, the Spanish conquerors brought the vine to Argentina in the 16th century, particularly the monks who followed the legions. In Argentina, the Jesuit priest Cedrón introduced European grape varieties to Argentina, primarily Criolla. However, the...

Greece

Greece is considered the birthplace of European viticulture. According to legend, the supreme god Zeus had a tryst with Seméle, the goddess of the Bacchic frenzy. Dionysus, the god of wine, resulted from this affair. In fact, findings prove that wine was already cultivated in Crete around 1600 BC....

Chile

Chile's geography is remarkably unique: the country is over 4,000 kilometres long but only 180 kilometres wide. The Atacama Desert borders the north; in the south, it reaches into the cold Tierra del Fuego. In the east, the monumental Andes loom, and in the west, the coastal cordilleras form the...

Croatia

Excavations and findings prove that viticulture was already practiced in Croatia along the Adriatic coast 2,500 years ago, presumably by Thracians and Greeks, which the Romans later continued. Approximately 21,500 hectares are distributed among some 17,000 winegrowers, proof that plenty of wine is...