Test Your Wine Knowledge: The Top 3 Wine Producing Countries

What do you know about the top 3 wine-producing regions of the world? This article offers a quick introduction to the differences between French, Italian, and Spanish wines—how much do you already know? 

French Wine

Sales and History

Though the worldwide sales of French wine have been declining in recent years (due to the fact that wine is seen as an old person’s drink in France), French wine still tops the list of worldwide wine production. The enormous amount of underselling French wine has led to a wine glut, or, as they call it, “wine lake,” and the French have recently resorted to distilling their wine grapes into other alcohols.

Surprising fact: The French wine industry hasn’t always been as prominent as it is now. Although the French have been producing wine since the far, far past, their production suffered for many years due to rampant mildew problems and the wine grape scourge called phylloxera. The World Wars didn’t help the wine industry in France (or the rest of Europe) either. After 1935, the French wine industry saved itself from near destruction by reclassifying their wines and saving endangered grapes, and they reasserted themselves in the public psyche.

Good News for Your Restaurant

French wines are meant to be paired with food, so they’re usually a safe bet to recommend with a meal. However, you should know that the milder flavors that come from French winemaking techniques turn them into a disappointment for the people who prefer to drink wines at wine bars. The mildness of French wine may also make them a bad choice for wine tastings.

Types of Wines

The French have not only been growing wines since the dawn of time, they’ve considered it an art form for over 2,000 years. They really, really know their wine—but not many people understand their labeling.

There are over fifty varieties of popular French grapes, but French wine labels may or may not mention the grape varietal. Unfortunately, this means that to understand French wines, you must also understand the regions. Some notable regions that you’ve heard of are Bordeaux, Beaujolais, and Champagne. When French labels do mention the grape varietal, they’re filled with names you recognize, notably Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, and Sauvignon Blanc.

Want to know more? Read this.  

Italian Wine

Sales and History

Italy and France have been locked in a battle for the top wine producing spot over the past few years, and for good reason—French and Italian wines are totally different. Italian wines, though still seen as “mild” when compared to the world’s more robust wines (like Malbec and Shiraz, which are not from Italy), have a range of flavors and strengths. Usually, no matter what, even the most picky wine drinker will enjoy at least one Italian wine.

Like France, Italians have been making wine forever. In fact, the Romans actually created the techniques of bottling and barreling wine, and they even invented the barrel. Because the Romans had long-term storage techniques so early, their wines were considered to be very strong to the everyday wine drinkers of the far past, and Italian wine was frequently mixed with water to lessen the wine’s “overbearing” flavor. Of course, this also helped purify the water, which contained so many parasites before modern purification techniques that it was likely to kill you if you didn’t add alcohol.

Good News for Your Restaurant

Italian wine regions are as varied as Italian food regions, and the pairings between the two are very successful. Does your restaurant serve Tuscan food? Stock up on Tuscan wines. Easy pairings are always good news.

Types of Wines

Italy has over 500 grape varietals and 350 “authorized” grapes. This makes it hard to sound smart when you’re talking about Italian grape varietals. The top varietals are known locally as the “Killer Bs,” and they’re Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello di Montalcino. Other Italian wines you may have heard of include Pinot Grigio (called “Pinot Gris” in France), Primitivo (called “Zinfandel” in California), and Sangiovese (which is the Chianti grape).

Want to know more? Read this.  

Spanish Wine

Sales and History

Spanish wine may be new to the worldwide scene, but its achievement of number three on the top-producing countries is pretty impressive, especially when you consider that Spain has widely spaced grape plants (to avoid spreading disease), a extremely varied climate, and less-than-ideal soil.

Although Spain’s local wine industry has been booming since, er, the beginning of time (sound familiar?) the nation’s offerings didn’t hit the world scene until the European phylloxera epidemic in the mid-19^th Century. At that time, French and Italian grapes were both destroyed, and inhabitants of those two nations travelled over the mountains to get their wine fix from Spain. That was when France learned about oaking wines (a Spanish practice), and this was also when French and Italian wine enthusiasts started illegally using Spanish wine as a glass-by-glass additive to their native wines, as Spanish wine had a higher alcohol content.

The Italians and French said a lot of rude things about Spanish wines in the past (and, to be fair, the wine quality was wildly inconsistent, due to the Spanish climate, their unscientific production methods, and their storage techniques), but Spanish wine sold well until the World Wars, when Europe had bigger issues to worry about. In the 1950s, Spanish wine regained popularity within the country, but it wasn’t until the 1990s that Spain standardized their wines by accepting the use of traditional grape varietals from other countries (such as Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon), and it wasn’t until 1996 that Spanish growers were finally given the irrigation freedom that allowed them to increase their yield, even in drought conditions.

Good News for Your Restaurant

Want to sell a “sipping” wine? Spanish wines are your go-to. The Even in the 1800s, French and Italians drinkers knew that Spanish wines were fuller and more alcoholic than their own, and Spanish wine-making methods have only improved in the past centuries. Also, if you have a customer who enjoys oaky wines, older vintage Spanish bottles are usually a good bet to recommend. Some Spanish wines are oaked for decades.

Types of Wines

Spain has even more grape varieties than Italy, boasting over 600 grape varietals in total. However, their wines are much easier to learn about because 80% of their wine comes from just 20 grapes. Spanish wines you may have heard of include Tempranillo and Garnacha. In addition, Spain has their own version of Champagne, called “Cava,” and they produce Sherry for the world.

Want to know more? Read this. 

In Closing

Learning about all the different wine-producing regions can be difficult, but the more you understand about wines, and the more you can tell your customers about wines, the better prepared you will be to sell your wines. The best way to learn about wines is to read and research avidly, go to wine tastings, ask questions, and drink a heck of a lot of wine. Enjoy!