Cave Leyvraz & Stevens - Viticulteurs-Encaveurs, Vins bios, Domaine des Bossons, Domaine du Vieux-Clocher, Peissy Geneve Suisse

World Wine Production

Over the Christmas period I had the fortune to try a superb Argentinian wine which I will describe later in this article which led me to think about who are the largest producers of wine in the world.

You have an idea if who you think are the biggest producers and the top three did not surprise me however looking further down the list there were some surprises. Top 10 Countries Wine Production I was quite shocked to find out that Argentina was the 5th largest producer based on how little exposure I had to their wines.

Here is a table of the top producers of wine based on 2005 numbers.

France,18.4
Italy,18.4
Spain, 13.5
USA, 6.9
Argentina, 5.4
Australia, 5.0
China, 4.2
South Africa, 3.3
Germany, 3.2
Chile, 3.0
Portugal, 2.6

Whilst the top 3 you would probably guess, the remaining countries, and the order of then, is surprising.

This is what we find so fascinating about wine. You are constantly learning something new about the subject and any preconceptions you have are usually challenged.

Its also interesting to think of the countries who make up the remaining 16.1% of the total production including England, Eastern Europe, New Zealand - the list goes on.

Again it is this diversity that makes the subject so fascinating.

I hope you find the fact above useful as you travel on you journey with wine.

Now back to the wine I tried over Christmas.

It was a 2007 Opi aka Rodolfo Sadler Malbec Shiraz from the Medoza region of Argentina. The bottle has a purple foil on top and one thing you notice when you pour it into the glass is that the wine has a very similar colour.

The wine itself has a berry flavour with hints of plumb and vanilla, I found it very easy on the pallete and a wine you could enjoy with most food. I would highly recommend you trying this wine.