The world makes most of its wine from grapes grown in a band of vineyards that necklace the globe, in either hemisphere, between the 50th and 30th degrees latitude. Fruit crops cannot grow reliably above or below those marks. Not much reason to build a winery in Iceland.
We know our wines from these great bands, from the domineering triumvirate of Italy, France and Spain (that together make just under 50 percent of all the wine in the world) to those perky upstarts such as Australia or Argentina that have been clamoring for the attention of our corkscrews since fine winemaking took off globally “only” 50 years ago. Winemaking is well over 8,000 years old. If you’re doing it, even successfully, for only 50 years, you’re still in diapers.
We’re in that noisy wine baby group, the several states that make most of U.S. wine, joined by some very old winemaking countries such as Greece and Portugal that decided, after their 19th- and 20th-century civil wars or falls from grace, to up their game and make wine in the modern way.
But now everyone is in on the act. Wineries make wine well outside those great latitudinal bands of viticulture. They simply capitalize on small pockets in their countries that combine adaptable soils and temperature-friendly microclimates in which to grow grapes. Here they come: Thailand, southern India, Brazil, Azerbaijan, southern England, Tunisia and many more.
More Top Picks Best Glider Chairs For Nursery
The globe’s most northerly vineyard is in Norway, at Lerkekasa at 59.4 degrees north, near Gvarv, the birthplace of telemark skiing and, it appears, Norwegian wine.
We are all awed to learn that the People’s Republic of China is the fifth-largest winemaker on the globe (after the Mediterranean triumvirate and our country, in fourth place), discounting its annual 2 billion liters’ production of so-called “yellow wine” (huangjiu), a moderately alcoholic fermented beverage made of millet, wheat, rice or sorghum. Add in its huangjiu, and China would be the world’s third-biggest winemaker, beating out Spain.
Wine is now made at all the margins, even if grapes don’t grow there. Every U.S. state sports at least two grape-based wineries (Alaska and Wyoming each own two; all the other 48, more than two, from Hawaii’s three and Utah’s seven — can you believe them numbers? — to California’s 3,700-plus). If they don’t grow grapes, they merely ship ’em in; it’s the modern way, the “because-I-can-do-it” way.
And some of these wines are — to repeat something a Texas winemaker once said to me — “pretty darned delicious.”
I trolled the world’s winemaking districts searching for wines that would spark even my jaded palate. I found many, each a twist on the words “If you can make it in Napa, you can make it anywhere.” Check them out (listed by price):
NV Gruet Winery Brut Rose, Albuquerque, New Mexico: These people are amazing, ex-pat Champenois who use both the traditional method of Champagne and its grapes (in this case both pinot noir and chardonnay) to craft some of the better-priced, full-on “champagne” that our country can boast. $16-$17
2012 Vinkara Narince “Dry White,” Anatolia, Turkey: The grape narince is Turkey’s top producer of its famed raisins (and is the fourth-largest globally planted white grape); it now makes much of the country’s dry white table wine; this is clean, fresh, grapefruit-y, apple-y and simply delicious. $17
2012 Lidio Carraro Chardonnay “Dadivas,” Brazil: No oak means incisive, pure, applelike chardonnay fruit, as it clears and refreshes the palate; really nice for the money. $20
2012 Bodega Garzon Tannat, Uruguay: A herald of South America’s “next malbec,” just you wait and see. Tannat the grape means deep color, voluptuously textured fruit, lots of tannin richly rendered; beef, roasts, grills — take ’em on. $20
2011 Colterris Cabernet Sauvignon, Grand Valley, Colorado: OK, so you take many a $50 Napa cabernet and set it aside. Verdict: For half the price, you get twice the wine; pure, delicious, focused, high-toned and aromatic cabernet. $27
2012 Chateau Vartely Red Blend, Moldova: A blend of native grape rara neagra and merlot and syrah; meaty, smoky, darkly pigmented. $35
2011 Bending Branch Winery Mourvedre Reddy Vineyard, Texas: Great aromatics, even though pale by mourvedre standards; juicy, smooth and more flexible than the traditional style. $28
2007 Vino Budimir Red Blend, Zupa, Serbia: From a blend of 60 percent native prokupac grape and 40 percent cabernet sauvignon; world-class aromas and flavors of dark berries, cassis, roast coffee, with depth and length of character on substantial but feathery tannins. $40
2010 Barboursville Vineyards Red Blend “Octagon,” Virginia: The winery’s award-winning Bordeaux blend; cassis and blackberry undergird spice and herb notes; elegant texture, great persistence of flavor. $55