Last week we presented you with the world's top 10 wine producing countries. But there was an anomoly. Which one? Read on, the answer is at the end of this blog.
Most quality wines are produced from the Vinifera grape family. These thrive especially well in the Mediterranean climate. Countries around the Mediterranean produce most of the world's wine. The climate is ideally suited for the Vinifera grape variety. The regions have mild winters and rainfall is concentrated in the winter while the summers are warm and sunny – ideal for growing grapes.
This region is part of the Koppen climate classification system. Koppen, a Russian – German climatist classified the world's climates in the 19th century. There we find Winnipeg and Manitoba in the "cold continental" category with northern Manitoba in the "sub-arctic". Cold continental means long cold winters and usually sunny warm summers, just like Siberia. First don't tell a Manitoban farmer about our dry summers, it won't work.
BC is called the "west coast marine climate", often wet and mild winters and summers.
So where does this lead to? Climate decides, and there are always exceptions to every rule. 2012 was a good year; 2010, not so much. Climate!!! You've heard it.
So where do those Chilean, Australian wines come from? Countries like Chili, Asutralia, South Africa, U.S. all have a region with a "Mediterranean climate". Always on the west coast, these regions do not have any extremes in temperature.
However, there are again exceptions. The Okanagan (faked by irrigation) the Niagara penninsula (between two large lakes) etc. These produce relatively good wines, thanks to science and hybrids of the Vinifera and Labrusca families.
Answer to trivia: China does not belong in the Mediterrainian clmate family. Fine maybe they are growing Manitoba concords, which grow like weeds and produce a somewhat decent wine.