Wine regions of the world

Burgundy (Bourgogne) is the benchmark for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. The region's narrow limestone-rich corridor runs south from Dijon to Mâcon, and the obsession here is terroir — the specific combination of soil, slope, and microclimate that makes a vineyard unique. The Côte d'Or alone contains more appellation designations than most countries have total.

Tuscany is Italy's most exported wine story. From the hills around Florence to the slopes of Montalcino, Sangiovese dominates in styles that range from everyday Chianti to the structured, age-demanding Brunello di Montalcino. The so-called 'Super Tuscans' — blends outside DOC rules — announced Italian winemakers' ambition to the world in the 1970s.

Napa Valley became California's most prestigious wine address after the 1976 Paris Tasting, where its Cabernet Sauvignons beat the best of Bordeaux. The valley floor and mountain sub-AVAs — Rutherford, Oakville, Stags Leap, Howell Mountain — each express the grape differently, but the throughline is ripeness, density, and structured tannin that softens beautifully with a decade of aging.

Rioja is Spain's most storied red wine region, a blend of the traditional and the modern. The classic style — Tempranillo aged for years in American oak — produces wines with complex vanilla and coconut notes layered over strawberry and dried cherry fruit. A newer generation of winemakers is producing more fruit-forward, terroir-focused expressions in French oak or amphora.

The Barossa Valley is the spiritual home of Australian Shiraz. German Lutheran settlers planted vines in the 1840s, and some of those original Shiraz plants — pre-phylloxera — still produce fruit today. Old-vine Barossa Shiraz is unmistakable: concentrated dark fruit, dark chocolate, smoked meat, and pepper from both clay and iron-rich soils.

The Mosel is Riesling's most dramatic expression. Vineyards planted at near-45-degree angles on ancient blue Devonian slate capture maximum sun in one of Europe's most northerly wine regions. The resulting wines are featherweight in alcohol but enormous in mineral energy, with an electric acidity that can carry off-dry or botrytised styles for decades.