Wine regions of the world

Rioja is a Spanish DOCa covering red, white, rosé and quality sparkling wines.

One of the world's most famous wine regions, home to the great châteaux and to a classification system that has stood for almost two centuries.

Italy's most internationally recognised wine region, home to Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and the revolutionary Super Tuscans.

Champagne is a French AOC for white and rosé sparkling wines.

The Californian valley that proved the New World could compete with the finest wines of France.

The great red-wine appellation of the Castilian plateau. Ribera del Duero produces some of the most powerful and expressive wines in Spain.

Alongside Rioja, one of Spain's only two DOCa appellations. Priorat produces slate-grown reds with a very distinctive minerality.

One of the world's great wine regions, with a unique ageing system (solera and criaderas) that produces wines with no equivalent anywhere else.

The region that raised the idea of terroir to its highest expression. Burgundy produces the most refined and sought-after Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the world.

France's great region for full-bodied reds with character. Two very different zones — the North (Syrah) and the South (Grenache blends) — offering complementary styles.

Piedmont is Italy's great red wine region, home to Barolo and Barbaresco: two of the most admired wines in the world, both made from Nebbiolo.

One of the world's great Shiraz regions. Barossa Valley produces reds with a power, concentration and generosity that have made it a global benchmark.

One of the oldest demarcated wine regions in the world (1756). The Douro produces Port and, increasingly, world-class dry reds.

Appellation of Sanlúcar de Barrameda (Cádiz) devoted to manzanilla, a fortified Palomino Fino wine aged under a veil of flor: dry, light and markedly saline in character.

The subzone of Rioja located in Álava, in the Basque Country.

Chablis is the purest, most mineral expression of Chardonnay, without the opulence of Meursault or the complexity of Montrachet.

The Médoc is the heart of Left Bank Bordeaux and is home to almost all the red wines of the 1855 Classification, including four of its five Premiers Grands Crus Classés.

Saint-Émilion is the jewel of Bordeaux's Right Bank and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pomerol is Bordeaux's most exclusive appellation: barely 800 hectares, no official classification, and home to Pétrus and Le Pin.

Argentina's most important wine region, where Malbec reaches its fullest expression and high-altitude vineyards produce some of the finest reds of the New World.

The winemaking heart of Chile, where Cabernet Sauvignon finds one of its finest expressions and Carménère also shines, on soils of real character.

The heart of the Riesling world, where dizzyingly steep terraced vineyards on slate soils produce wines of unrivalled minerality and elegance.

The historic prestige region for German Riesling, where the natural shelter of the Taunus hills allows the grape to reach full ripeness and complexity.

The icon of the Rhône, with its distinctive glass bottle embossed with the papal coat of arms and its powerful, spicy reds, of a unique character that cannot be mistaken for any other.

One of the world's most famous regions for botrytised sweet wine, where botrytis produces concentrated, complex wines of unique class.

Regarded as the historic cradle of Bordeaux wine, it is known for very elegant red and dry white wines with marked minerality.

The greatest of the world's sweet wines, made from grapes touched by noble rot in the Ciron valley, with unrivalled complexity and ageing potential.

The most elegant appellation in the Médoc, famous for aromatic, refined wines that combine power with sensuality.

The heart of the Médoc, home to three of Bordeaux's five First Growths. Its wines are powerful, structured and built for legendary ageing.

Between Pauillac and Margaux, Saint-Julien strikes the perfect balance between power and elegance, with legendary consistency.

The heart of red Burgundy, home to legendary Grand Crus such as Romanée-Conti, Musigny and Chambertin. The region produces some of the deepest and longest-lived Pinot Noir in the world.

Burgundy's most versatile area, famous both for elegant Pinot Noir and for extraordinary terroir-driven Chardonnay. Pommard, Volnay and Meursault are key appellations.

One of the most famous names in Chardonnay worldwide, with wines of buttery richness and distinctive minerality.

It shares the Grand Cru Le Montrachet with Chassagne-Montrachet, considered by many one of the world's finest dry Chardonnays, with great minerality and depth.

The most powerful Pinot Noir commune of the Côte de Nuits, home to legendary Grands Crus such as Chambertin and Chambertin Clos de Bèze.

One of the most refined villages of the Côte de Nuits, home to Romanée-Conti, often considered the finest Pinot Noir in the world, with incomparable aromas.

One of France's great red wine regions, home to legendary Syrah with Bordeaux-level structure, tannins and ageing potential.

The most sophisticated region of the northern Rhône, famous for elegant Syrah with touches of Viognier that produce floral, complex wines of great refinement.

Home of the world's most prestigious white Viognier, producing aromatic, floral and complex whites with surprising ageing potential.

France's most prestigious Sauvignon Blanc region, with unique terroir soils (limestone, clay, flint) that produce mineral whites of exceptional complexity.

The 'king of Italian wines'. A red of extreme complexity and longevity, with firm tannins and aromas of roses, tar and truffle.

Nebbiolo with more finesse than Barolo. More approachable young, yet with great ageing potential.

A Tuscan red made from Sangiovese (known locally as Brunello) in Montalcino. Brunello produces reds of enormous structure, elegance and longevity. Complex and mineral, with notes of black cherry, leather and cedar.

The serious Chianti from the most historic zone. Sangiovese with structure, lively acidity and, often, oak ageing. The Gallo Nero seal identifies the appellation.

Tuscan Sangiovese of the utmost elegance from the Montepulciano area. Structure, minerality and ageing potential comparable to Brunello.

A powerful red made using the appassimento method (drying the grapes). Concentration, complexity, high alcohol. One of Italy's great reds.

The historic fortified wine of the island of Madeira, made with a unique method of ageing with heat that builds exceptional complexity. Madeira is rarely seen on today's wine lists, which is precisely why it is a huge opportunity.

One of Portugal's most historic regions, near Lisbon, where the Ramisco grape produces singular, mineral, saline reds on sandy soils.

Luján de Cuyo is Mendoza's premium sub-region, specialising in elegant high-altitude Malbec.

An Australian region specialising in aged fortified wines.

A historic South African region, the birthplace of South African wine, specialising in wines of elegance and tradition.

A Hungarian region of legendary reds, home of Egri Bikavér (Bull's Blood).