Wine has become more diverse throughout the centuries. From the start of civilisation in Mesopotamia wine has spread throughout the entire world. From being a major part of the diet before the advent of safe drinking water, wine has evolved into a social drink.

As explorers and colonists moved to different regions of the world, they also brought with them the knowledge necessary for the cultivation of grapes and the production of wine.

Today wine is produced worldwide, but several areas are of special interest. These regions are as follows: Eastern United States, California Australia, Chile, South America, South Africa and France.

Each of these regions has a different story behind the evolution of their individual wines. The unique political and agricultural landscapes of these areas have served to influence their wine and even how we, as consumers, view these wines. Today's wine market offers us many different choices that were not always available to the civilised world.

American Wines

Wine was not always popular in the New World. While grapes are indigenous to North America, these grapes did not make very good wine.

When the first Europeans came to the New World, they found a land that was virtually covered in grapevines. They soon realised that these vines were nothing like their Old World counterparts and that the wines they produced were poor in quality. Dissatisfied with the quality of wine produced by the local vines, the colonists attempted to plant Old World vines. Much to their dismay these vines quickly succumbed to the harsh winters. These failures in early American wine making caused settlers to turn to whiskey and hard cider.

However, there were a few wine makers that were determined and in the 1800s Ohio dominated the American wine industry. After the California gold rush, California entered into this picture, but areas suffered setbacks with the Prohibition Movement. During Prohibition, only wines used for religious sacraments and medicinal purposes were permitted. This caused grape growers to turn to grapes that shipped well, instead of those that made fine wines. After Prohibition the wine industry slowly recovered from these setbacks.

American Wine's Successes

In the western part of the New World, Spanish settlers discovered that they could successfully cultivate European grapes in the mild California climate. And thus the wine boom began. There were several key events that led to the success of American wines:

• The travel of wealthy suburbanites to Europe in the late 1950s.
• The Kennedy administration and its addition of a new sense of internationalism to the United States.
• In the late 1960s, television programmes such as Julia Child's cooking show educated Americans about wine.
• California's defeat of French wines in an international competition in 1976.

Currently wine is a popular beverage in America and its wine industry continues to grow.

South American Wine

The expansion of the wine industry into Chile and other parts of South America did not really begin until the 20th century.
Since Chile and most of South American were under Spanish colonial rule until the 1800s, little was done to promote their wine industry. Just as the missions in California produced sacramental wine, Chilean vineyards also grew up around the same principle.

After South America gained its independence from Spain, most wine makers were content to stick with their traditional wines until prosperous Chileans started bringing back foreign wines from their travels abroad. Chilean wines are becoming highly favoured in today's wine market.

The wines of Chile and South America in general, tend to be ripe and fruity in flavour, much like their Californian counterparts. Clearly these wines benefited from both Spanish and French prototypes brought to them by the European explorers and settlers who developed South America.

Wines from Australia

Wine production in Australia began almost as soon as the first British convicts landed there in 1788. The commercial production of wine on this continent did not begin until a British soldier named John Macarthur planted vineyards in New South Wales in the early 19th century.

Macarthur became one of the key individuals in the development of New South Wales as well as the production of wine in Australia. It is impossible, however, to discuss the foundation of Australia's wine industry without noting John Busby. Busby was a young Scottish immigrant to Australia who has become know as the "father of Australian wine". Busby collected information concerning wine growing from regions around the world and took his newly acquired expertise to Australia's Hunter Valley. The Hunter Valley quickly became one of Australia's leading wine regions. This grape filled valley still enjoys that reputation to this day.

Australians produce anything from a dry white to a stronger Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon. The Australian wine industry of today consists of some of the world's leading winegrowers. Australia's climate allows for the cultivation of almost any variety of grape.
The good weather of Australia makes it a perfect place to cultivate grapes and her wines have become very noteworthy in the past century. The variety of wines produced on this continent promise much for Australia's future as a leading producer of fine wines in the decades to come.

Wine from France

It is impossible to discuss the wine industry of the world without mentioning the wines of France. Since the time of the Ancient Romans, France has been one of the leading players in the growth of wine as a worldwide industry. Through centuries of trial and error France has perfected its wines. These wines are considered the standard to emulate by other regions around the world.

French vineyards have seen their share of wars and been subject to different ruling governments. The British had control of Bordeaux before the French finally won it back in 1453. The French wine industry was not without its setbacks as with war comes the inevitable destruction of farm and vineyards. The French refined their wine industry in Bordeaux after the English left, but this was not the end of the region's political troubles. In fact, production of French wines may have halted completely after the fall of the Roman Empire without the efforts of Charlemagne and the Church to keep it going.

In addition to the conflict with the British, the French have also been subjected to wars throughout the 17th and 18th centuries between their own country, Holland and Germany. Not only did these conflicts cause some physical damage to the vines, but helped slow world trade as well. Only with the free trade agreements in the 19th century were the wines of France able to become more of a force in the world's marketplaces.

The Phylloxera epidemic in the late 19th century was only to be replaced by the turmoil caused by two world wars. The French have done a remarkable job repairing their wine industry after so many calamities and their wines still rank among the highest in the world today. Both Bordeaux and Burgundy are known throughout the world as producers of very fine wines.

Wine in South Africa

At the time South Africa was first settled in the early 17th century by the Dutch, South Africa was not considered to be a suitable climate for the cultivation of grapes.

This attitude quickly changed when vines were successfully grown in the middle of the same century. While these wines were considered high in quality, continuing the production of fine wines was not on the Dutch's agenda for their colony. Instead, the farmlands were needed for rice to feed the slaves and colonists.

By the 19th century, South Africa was producing more wine than it ever had before and it was enjoyed all around the world. It exported so much wine that the British Lord Nelson called it an "immense tavern". When the British gained control of the Cape, they were delighted to find a large source of wine at their disposal. After the British abolished slavery in South Africa the wine industry suffered. Rich planters drove away all competition through the production of cheap wine. The British government attempted to correct this problem by raising the tariffs on wine from the Cape, thereby removing South African wine from the British market for the next several years.

During the wine boom of the 20th century, South Africa was virtually ignored in the world's wine market because of its political situation and the subsequent trade embargoes against South African industry in general. The attitude towards South African industry created many obstacles for the promotion of her wines.

Today, the wines of South Africa are very high in quality and consumer interest in these wines is growing.