Wine-producing regions

Wine grapes grow almost exclusively between thirty and fifty north or south of the Equator. The world's most southerly vineyards are in the South Island of New Zealand near the 45th parallel. Grapevines prefer a relatively long growing season of 100 days or more with warm daytime temperatures (no greater than 95°F/35°C) and cool nights (a difference of 40°F/23°C or more).
The 13 largest export nations (2005 dates) – Italy, France, Spain, Australia, Chile, the United States of America, Germany, South Africa, Portugal, Moldova, Hungary, Croatia and Argentina. In the United States, California accounts for the largest share of wine producers, including Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley, Monterey, Paso Robles, and Santa Ynez. The vineyards of Algeria used to produce many fine wines, especially during and immediately after the era of French colonization, but civil strife since the 1970s has greatly reduced this industry.

The leaders in export volume by market share in 2003 were:
France, 22%
Italy, 20%
Spain, 16%
Australia, 8%
Chile, 6%
United States, 5%
Portugal 4%
Germany 4%

In 2000, Great Britain imported more wine from Australia than from France for the first time in history.

Brought to you by Wine Encyclopedia, the best place to learn about and rate wine. Original text by Wikipedia.