Argentine
 

Argentine wine, as with some aspects of Argentine cuisine, has its roots in Spain. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Juan Cedrón (or Cidrón) brought the first vine cuttings to Santiago del Estero in 1557, and the cultivation of the grape and wine production stretched first to neighbouring regions, and then to other parts of the country.
Argentina is the largest wine producer in South Americaand the 5th largest in the world, with over1,200 million liters (2003), and the 13th largest exporter in the world (431 million USD in 2005).


Due to the high altitude and lowhumidity of the main wine producing regions, Argentine vineyards rarely face the problems of insects, fungi, moulds and other diseases that affect grapes in other countries. This permits cultivating with little or no pesticides, allowing even organic wines to be easily produced.


  
 
 
 

 Chile

 

Chile has a long viticultural history for a New World wine region dating to the 16th century when the Spanish conquistadors brought Vitis vinifera vines with them as they colonized the region. In the mid-18th century, French wine varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were introduced. In the early 1980s, a renaissance began with the introduction of stainless steel fermentation tanks and the use of oak barrels for aging. Wine exports grew very quickly as quality wine production increased.

Chile is now the fifth largest exporter of wines to the United States. The climate has been described as midway between that of California and France. The most common grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Carmenère.


  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 United States

 

The United States has been producing wine for over 300 years. Today, wine production is performed in all fifty states, with California leading the way in wine production followed by Washington State, Oregon and New York. The United States is the fourth largest wine producing country in the world after France, Italy, and Spain. The production in the State of California alone is more than double of the production of the entire country of Australia

 
 

 
    
 
 

 Portugal

 

Portugal has the oldest appellation system in the world, the DouroValley. This region and Vinho Verde region, in the Northwest produces some of the world's finest, unique and highest value-added wines. Portugalranks as the seventh largest wine producing country in the world, exporting over half of its production.


Pavao Vinho Verde - the primary grape used for the production of these delicious white wines is Alvarinho (same as the Albarino varietal used in Northwest Spain’s Rias Biaxas Region)

These slightlyeffervescent white wines are higher in acidity, hence their fresh, crisp and refreshing nature. Enjoy!
 
 
 

 Spain

 

Spain has over 2.9 million acres (over 1.17 million hectares) planted--making it the most widely planted wine producing nation in the world., but it is only the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest being Italy and France.

This is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry, infertile soil found in many Spanish wine regions.

The country is ninth in worldwide consumptions with Spaniards drinking, on average, 10.06 gallons (38 liters) a year. The country has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 600 varieties planted throughout Spain though 80 percent of the country's wine production is from only 20 grapes--including Tempranillo, Albariño, Garnacha, Palomino, Airen, Macabeo, Parellada, Xarel·lo, Cariñena and Monastrell. Major Spanish wine regions include the Rioja and Ribera del Duero which is known for their Tempranillo production; Jerez, the home of the fortified wine Sherry; Rías Baixas in the northwest region of Galicia that is known for its white wines made from Albariño and Catalonia which includes the Cava and still wine producing regions of the Penedès as well the Priorat region.
 
 
 

 
 
 

 Italy

 

Etruscans and Greek settlers produced wine in the country long before the Romans started developing their own vineyards in the second century BC. Two thousand years later, Italy remains one of the world's foremost producers, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production.

Depending on the vintage, modern Italy is the world's largest or second largest wine producer. In 2007, production was about 20% of the global total, second only to France, which produced 22%.

Wine is a popular drink in Italy. Grapes are grown in almost every part of Italy, with more than 1 million vineyards under cultivation. In some places the vines are trained along low supports. In others they climb as slender saplings.

Italy's 20 wine regions correspond to the 20 political regions. Understanding of Italian wine becomes clearer with an understanding of the differences between each region; their cuisines reflect their indigenous wines, and vice-versa. The 36 docg wines are located in 13 different regions but most of them are concentrated in Piedmont and Tuscany. Among these are appellations appreciated and sought by wine lovers around the world: Barolo, Barbaresco, Brunello and Chianti Classico. Despite its high quality Amarone is not classified as a DOCG.
 

The regions are, roughly from Northwest to Southeast:
  • Aosta Valley
  • Piedmont
  • Liguria
  • Lombardy
  • Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol
  • Friuli-Venezia Giulia
  • Veneto
  • Emilia-Romagna
  • Tuscany
  • Marche 
  • Umbria
  • Lazio
  • Abruzzo
  • Molise
  • Campania
  • Basilicata
  • Apulia
  • Calabria
  • Sicily
  • Sardinia



Italian Wine Grape Varietals

Italy's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MIRAF), has documented over 350 grapes and granted them "authorized" status. There are more than 500 other documented varietals in circulation as well. The following is a list of the most common and important of Italy's varietals.
 

          Rosso Red

    • Sangiovese - Italy's claim to fame, the pride of Tuscany. Its wines are full of cherry fruit, earth, and cedar. It produces Chianti Classico, Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montepulciano, Montefalco Rosso, and many others.
    • Nebbiolo- The most noble of Italy's varietals. The name (meaning "little fog") refers to the autumn fog that blankets most of Piedmont where it is grown, a condition the grape seems to enjoy. It is a somewhat difficult varietal to master, but produces the most renowned Barolo and Barbaresco, made in province of Cuneo, along with the lesser-known Sforzato, Inferno and Sassella made in Valtellina, Ghemme and Gattinara, made in Vercelli's province. The wines are known for their elegance and bouquet of wild mushroom, truffle, roses, and tar.
    • Montepulciano- The grape of this name is not to be confused with the Tuscan town of Montepulciano; it is most widely planted on the opposite coast in Abruzzo. Its wines develop silky plum-like fruit, friendly acidity, and light tannin.
    • Barbera- The most widely grown red wine grape of Piedmont and Southern Lombardy, most famously around the towns of Asti and Alba, and Pavia. The wines of Barbera were once simply "what you drank while waiting for the Barolo to be ready." With a new generation of wine makers, this is no longer the case.
    • Corvina- Along with the varietals rondinella and molinara, this is the principal grape which makes the famous wines of the Veneto: Valpolicella and Amarone. Valpolicella wine has dark cherry fruit and spice. After the grapes undergo passito (a drying process), the Amarone they yield is elegant, dark, and full of raisinated fruits. Some Amarones can age for 40+ years.
    • Nero d'Avola- Nearly unheard of in the international market until recent years, this native varietal of Sicily is gaining attention for its robust, inky wines, and has therefore been nicknamed "the Barolo of the South".
    • Dolcetto- A grape that grows alongside barbera and nebbiolo in Piedmont, its name means "little sweet one"", referring not to the taste of the wine, but the ease in which it grows and makes great wines, suitable for everyday drinking. Flavors of concord grape, wild blackberries and herbs permeate the wine.
    • Negroamaro - The name literally means "black and bitter". A widely planted grape with its concentration in the region of Puglia, it is the backbone of the acclaimed Salice Salentino: spicy, toasty, and full of dark red fruits.
    • Aglianico - Considered the "noble varietal of the south," it is primarily grown in Campania and Basilicata. The name is derived from Hellenic, so it is considered a Greek transplant. Thick skinned and spicy, the wines are often both rustic and powerful.
    • Sagrantino - A native to Umbria, it is only planted on 250 hectares, but the wines are world-renowned. Inky purple, with rustic brooding fruit and heavy tannins, these wines can age for many years.
    • Malvasia Nera- Red Malvasia varietal from Piedmont. A sweet and perfumed wine, sometimes elaborated in the passito style.
 

Other major red varieties are Ciliegolo, Gaglioppo, Lagrein, Lambrusco, Monica, Nerello Mascalese, Pignolo, Primitivo, Refosco, Schiava, Schiopettino, Teroldego, and Uva di Troia.

"International" varietals such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Cabernet Franc are also widely grown.
 
 
 

    Bianco (White)
      • Trebbiano - Behind cataratto (which is made for industrial jug wine), this is the most widely planted white varietal in Italy. It is grown throughout the country, with a special focus on the wines from Abruzzo. Mostly, they are pale, easy drinking wines, but trebbiano from producers such as Valentini have been known to age for 15+ years. It is known as Ugni Blanc in France.
      • Moscato- Grown mainly in Piedmont, it is mainly used in the slightly-sparkling (frizzante), semi-sweet Moscato d'Asti. Not to be confused with moscato giallo and moscato rosa, two Germanic varietals that are grown in Trentino Alto-Adige.
      • Nuragus- An ancient Phoenician varietal found in southern Sardegna. Light and tart wines that are drunk as an apertif in their homeland.
      • Pinot Grigio- A hugely successful commercial grape (known as Pinot Gris in France), its wines are characterized by crispness and cleanness. As a hugely mass-produced wine, it is usually delicate and mild, but in a good producers' hands, the wine can grow more full-bodied and complex. The main problem with the grape is that to satisfy the commercial demand, the grapes are harvested too early every year, leading to wines without character.
      • Tocai Friulano- A varietal distantly related to Sauvignon Blanc, it yields the top wine of Friuli, full of peachiness and minerality. Currently, there is a bit of controversy regarding the name, as the EC has demanded it changed to avoid confusion with the Tokay dessert wine from Hungary.
      • Ribolla Gialla- A Slovenian grape that now makes its home in Friuli, these wines are decidedly old-world, with aromas of pineapple and mustiness.
      • Arneis- A crisp and floral varietal from Piedmont, which has been grown there since the 15th century.
      • Malvasia Bianca- Another white varietal that peeks up in all corners of Italywith a wide variety of clones and mutations. Can range from easy quaffers to funky, musty whites.
      • Pigato- A heavily acidic varietal from Liguria, the wines are vinified to pair with a cuisine rich in seafood.
      • Fiano (wine)- Grown on the southwest coast of Italy, the wines from this grape can be described as dewy and herbal, often with notes of pinenut and pesto.
      • Garganega - The main grape varietal for wines labeled Soave, this is a crisp, dry white wine from the Veneto wine region of Italy. It's a very popular wine that hails from northeast Italy around the city of Verona. Currently, there are over 3,500 distinct producers of Soave.
 

Other important whites include Carricante, Catarratto, Coda de Volpe, Cortese, Falaghina, Grillo, Inzolia, Picolit, Traminer, Verdicchio, Verduzzo, Vermentino and Vernaccia.

As far as non-native varietals, the Italians plant chardonnay, gewürztraminer (sometimes called traminer aromatico), riesling, petite arvine, and many others.
 
 


Super Tuscans

The term "Super Tuscan" describes any Tuscan red wine that does not adhere to traditional blending laws for the region. For example, Chianti Classico wines are made from a blend of grapes with Sangiovese as the dominant varietal in the blend. Super Tuscans often use other grapes, especially cabernet sauvignon, making them ineligible for DOC(G) classification under the traditional rules.

In 1968 Azienda Agricola San Felice produced the first ever "Super Tuscan" called Vigorello, and in the 1970s Piero Antinori, whose family had been making wine for more than 600 years, also decided to make a richer wine by eliminating the white grapes from the Chianti blend, and instead adding Bordeaux varietals (namely, cabernet sauvignon and merlot). He was inspired by a little-known (at the time) cabernet sauvignon made by relatives called Sassicaia, which openly flouted the rules set down for traditional wines in Tuscany. The result was one of the first Super Tuscans, which he named Tignanello, after the vineyard where the grapes were grown. Other winemakers started experimenting with Super Tuscan blends of their own shortly thereafter.

Because these wines did not conform to strict DOC(G) classifications, they were initially labeled as vino da tavola, meaning "table wine," a term ordinarily reserved for lower quality wines. The creation of the Indicazione Geografica Tipica category (technically indicating a level of quality between vino da tavola and DOCG) helped bring Super Tuscans "back into the fold" from a regulatory standpoint.