Regional Wine Characteristics

Desirable characteristics of fine wines depend on a combination of soil, climate, variety of grape and the methods of cultivation used in the vineyard. Wine growers are constantly striving to produce award-winning wines by utilizing new and proven growing methods to get the best characteristics.

Some important characteristics that are considered during wine judging include bouquet, acidity, body, crispness and sweetness. Wines with the most desirable characteristics are usually those from the most advantageous location.

Italy tops the list of wines with the most highly appreciated characteristics. The region of Tuscany is especially renowned as producing excellent wines. A combination of location and the ancient culture used to produce the wine is thought to be the key to their quality of excellence.

France is also known worldwide for producing consistently excellent wines. A few of the top regions for growing wines in France are Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne and Provence.

Each region has its own style of wine and each bases its reputation on the style and quality of their wines. The quality of French wines is determined by the methods of production used to ensure the quality characteristics that have made French wines distinguishable from others.

A surge in production of quality wines in countries such as Australia, Argentina and the USA has been built largely by the countries investing highly in the study of all aspects of wine making – from growing to bottling.

While judging the desirable characteristics of wine is complex and confusing, most wine aficionados agree that the variety of the grape is a key factor. Labeled by wine judges as “varietal character,” the flavor of the grape used in a specific wine is a considered to be a positive characteristic.

There is an entire language of wine used to describe a wine’s characteristics. When heard for the first time, the language seems to have a poetic quality about it, but in reality it helps wine lovers, judges and growers communicate with each other.

Words such as robust, aromatic and full-bodied are as elementary to a wine enthusiast as bundt, confection and crème frache are to a chef. The fun in discovering the various wine characteristics is to sample wines from around the world and see if you can match the characteristics to the wine.