The Signature Grapes chapter, indexed across every region we cover. Pick a region to read its signature grapes guide in full.
- AlsaceFrance. Riesling, Gewurztraminer and 51 Grands Crus on the Vosges flank
- Alto AdigeItaly. Alpine whites, native reds, bilingual cellars between the Dolomites and the Adige
- BeaujolaisFrance. Ten granite crus, one grape, a natural-wine revolution
- BordeauxFrance. Left Bank gravels, Right Bank clay, one top-tier appellation
- BurgundyFrance. One thousand climats of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay
- ChampagneFrance. The chalk cellars and Grand Cru villages of the world's benchmark sparkling wine
- Douro ValleyPortugal. Schist terraces, fortified Port and a still-wine renaissance
- FranciacortaItaly. Traditional-method sparkling DOCG from 1995, born in 1961 at Berlucchi, anchored at Erbusco
- Friuli-Venezia GiuliaItaly. Italy's white-wine north-east plus the birthplace of modern orange wine at Oslavia
- Jerez & SherrySpain. Two DOs, three towns, one chalky terroir, flor yeast
- LanguedocFrance. Carignan, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre, Picpoul and Mauzac across the garrigue from Narbonne to the Cevennes
- Loire ValleyFrance. Sauvignon, Chenin, Cabernet Franc and Melon across one thousand kilometres of river
- MoselGermany. Riesling on slate, from feather-light Kabinett to noble Trockenbeerenauslese
- PenedesSpain. Cava's home, Xarel-lo's homeland, and the splinter that became Corpinnat
- PfalzGermany. Riesling on basalt and limestone in the Mittelhaardt, Pinot Noir and Weissburgunder on the Sudliche Weinstrasse
- PiedmontItaly. Nebbiolo kings, Barbera workhorses, fog over the Langhe hills
- PrioratSpain. Garnacha, slate and the five pioneers who changed Spanish wine
- ProvenceFrance. Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsault, Rolle and Tibouren across the Mediterranean garrigue from the Rhone delta to the Italian border
- RheingauGermany. Riesling on quartzite and loess from Hochheim to Lorch, Spätburgunder on red slate at Assmannshausen
- RheinhessenGermany. Riesling on Wonnegau limestone, Silvaner on rolling hills and Roter Hang red slate above the Rhine
- Rhone ValleyFrance. Syrah, Viognier and Grenache across two hundred kilometres of the Rhone
- Ribera del DueroSpain. Tinto Fino on the Castilian plateau, from cooperative roots to cult-wine gravity
- RiojaSpain. Tempranillo, oak and the Ebro across three sub-zones
- Rías BaixasSpain. Atlantic Albariño, granite pergolas, five rías
- SantoriniGreece. Ungrafted Assyrtiko, kouloura baskets, volcanic salinity
- SicilyItaly. Volcano, sea wind, and native varieties that change with every contrada
- TokajHungary. Aszú gold from volcanic hillsides, 1737 royal decree, 2002 UNESCO inscription
- TuscanyItaly. Sangiovese hills, Super Tuscan coasts, one indelible terroir
- VenetoItaly. Amarone hills, Prosecco ridges, the full arc of Italian wine
- Vinho VerdePortugal. Atlantic Alvarinho on Portugal's green granite coast
- WachauAustria. Danube terraces, gneiss soils, the Smaragd standard