How are wines classified?
There are two standard methods of classifying wines – by region, and by grape type. In Old Country wine regions (basically in Europe), wines are strictly defined by where they’re grown. Champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France. Port is only the wine grown in a certain valley in Portugal – other areas, even using the same grapes, have a different name. In the New World, wines are often defined by the grape varietals of which they are composed. For example, even though California has a region called “Napa Valley”, that region actually puts out a huge variety of wines. Those wines are therefore better classified by the type of grape used to create the wine, rather than solely by the region itself.
There are two standard methods of classifying wines – by region, and by grape type. In Old Country wine regions (basically in Europe), wines are strictly defined by where they’re grown. Champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France. Port is only the wine grown in a certain valley in Portugal – other areas, even using the same grapes, have a different name. In the New World, wines are often defined by the grape varietals of which they are composed. For example, even though California has a region called “Napa Valley”, that region actually puts out a huge variety of wines. Those…
