Believe it or not, there is wine made in just about every country in the world. And some countries have several wine regions, so this could have been a very long post. I decided to highlight some of the world’s top wine-producing regions without the US (my home country) mentioned. I’ll focus on the United States at a later time.

The top three wine regions – France, Italy, and Spain – produce almost half the world’s wine (enough to fill 5,127 Olympic-sized swimming pools!). Let’s start with these three.

France

French wine always gives the idea of status, doesn’t it.  The French take their wine seriously! (If you have ever seen the movie Bottle Shock, you can understand why!) Even their 2 buck (well, euro) chuck is amazing. (Trust me, I bought one in Paris at a pharmacy once. It was divine!)

The country is home to ten major regions, each with their own signature wines. The most well-known include:

• Languedoc
• Burgundy
• Champagne
• Alsace
• Bordeaux

Italy

Ask an Italian winemaker, and they will always say Italian wines are the best. The country has more wine regions than France, and the wines are as unique as the variety of landscapes the grapes cover.

One of the largest and most famous is Tuscany, known for Chianti and Vin Sento. Other regions include:

• Campania
• Piedmont
• Prosecco
• Sicily
• Abruzzo
• Lombardy

Spain

More than one million acres of vineyards span Spain. It is known for its rich and varied red wines and its crisp white wines. Regions include:

• La Rioja
• Priorat
• Galicia

Next time, I’ll focus on some of my other favorite global wine regions, including some up-and-comers giving these top 3 producers a run for their money!