The Wine Blokes

Information on the wine regions of the world.

Eden Valley (34°38′S, 139°05′E) is a small South Australian town in the Barossa Ranges. It was named by the surveyors of the area after they found the word “Eden” carved into a tree.  Eden Valley has an elevation of 460 metres and an average annual rainfall of 716.2mm.
Eden Valley gives its name to a wine […]

Georgian wine

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Georgia is the oldest wine producing region of Europe, if not the world. Because of this, it is often referred to as “The birth place of wine” or “The cradle of wine making”. The fertile valleys of the South Caucasus, which Georgia straddles, are believed by many archaeologists to […]

Detailed map of the Rhône wine region, with separate maps of Southern Rhône and Northern Rhône
The Rhône wine region in Southern France is situated in the Rhône river valley and produces numerous wines under various AOC designations. The region is generally divided into two sub-regions with distinct vinicultural traditions, the Northern Rhône and the Southern […]

Vineyards in Agrelo, Mendoza.
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 […]

Catalonia
Catalan wine is wine made in the Spanish wine region of Catalonia. The term may also be used to refer to some French wines made in the Catalan influenced region of Roussillon. The city of Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the focal point of the Catalan wine industry, serving as its primary consumer […]

Most of the vineyards in Moldova are located on south facing slopes
Moldova has a well established wine industry. It has a vineyard area of 147,000 hectares (360,000 acres), of which 102,500 ha (253,000 acres) are used for commercial production. Most of the country’s wine production is for export. Many families have their own recipes and strands of grapes that […]

Hungarian wine has a history dating back to at least Roman times, and that history reflects the country’s position between the Slavs and the Germanic peoples. The best-known wines are the white dessert wine Tokay (Tokaji) and Bull’s Blood (Egri Bikavér), a full-bodied red wine.

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History
 

A bottle of Zweigelt
Only two European languages have words for […]

 By Paul H

 
Kangaroo Island is the third largest island off the coast of mainland Australia, with an area covering a little over 4,000 square kilometres. It rises from sea level to 307m at its highest point. Temperatures are moderated by the islands maritime climate making it on average warmer in winter and cooler in summer […]

Albariño grapes on a slope near a river in Spain
Albariño or Alvarinho is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and northern Portugal, where it is used to make varietal white wines.
Albariño is actually the Galician name for the grape, with Albarín Blanco an occasional synonym. In Portugal it is known […]

Ripening Tempranillo grapes

Species:
Vitis vinifera

Also called:
Cencibel, Tinta Roriz

Origin:
Spain

Notable regions:
Rioja, Spain
Ribera del Duero, Spain

Notable wines:
Vega Sicilia

Hazards:
Rot

Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain’s “noble grape”. Its name is the diminutive of the […]