Harvester Bar Bible - Update 04/2023

Wines of the World

Where do we make wine?

50 ⁰ N 30 ⁰ N

0 ⁰ N Equator

30 ⁰ S

50 ⁰ S

To grow good grapes for making wine we need to have enough sunlight and heat to allow the grapes to ripen properly and for the levels of natural sugar and acid (zestiness) to be balanced. If we have too much acid then the wine will taste sour and thin, if there is too much natural sugar then the wine will be too sweet. Without enough sunlight and warmth the grapes cannot ripen properly and for black grapes this could mean that they aren’t able to develop enough colour in their skins. This means that we cannot successfully grow grapes everywhere in the world and find that the ideal climates for grape growing tend to fall between 30 – 50 degrees north (known as the northern hemisphere) and south (southern hemisphere) of the equator. The amount of sunlight and warmth that a region experiences is known as its ‘climate’ – this is different to ‘weather’ which is unpredictable (like snow or hail). We can simplify wine making regions by categorising them as ‘Cool climates’ or ‘Hot Climates’ and can summarise the styles of wine we will find made there.