Wine Etiquette Around the World

In many French restaurants, the cheese course comes AFTER the main and BEFORE dessert. Pairing your remaining red wine with cheese is expected—ordering a new glass is not.

Italy has more indigenous grape varieties than any other country—over 500 are approved for commercial wine production. You could drink a different Italian grape variety every day for nearly two years.

Spain has more land under vine than any other country on Earth (over 1 million hectares), yet it ranks only third in production because its dry climate means lower yields per vine.

In the Douro Valley, some vineyards are so steep (60-degree gradients) that grapes must be carried out by hand in baskets on workers' backs. These 'mortorio' terraces predate the Roman era.

The US has wineries in all 50 states—yes, including Alaska and Hawaii. Texas has over 400 wineries and is the fifth-largest wine-producing state. The US is also the world's largest wine consumer by volume.

Some Barossa Valley Shiraz vines planted in the 1840s are among the oldest continuously producing vines in the world—they survived because phylloxera never reached South Australia.

Vineyards in Mendoza's Uco Valley sit at over 1,500 meters (4,900 feet) altitude—some of the highest commercial vineyards in the world. The Zuccardi winery was voted World's Best Winery three years running (2019-2021).

Chile is one of the very few wine-producing countries never affected by phylloxera. Its combination of Pacific Ocean, Andes Mountains, Atacama Desert, and Antarctic ice forms natural barriers that make Chile a 'viticultural island'.

The Vin de Constance dessert wine was Napoleon's favourite—he ordered it regularly during his exile on Saint Helena. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and Frederick the Great also wrote about it. The estate (Klein Constantia) still produces it today.

Germany's steepest vineyard, Bremmer Calmont on the Mosel, has a 65-degree gradient. Workers use harnesses and ropes to harvest grapes. One slip means falling into the river 300 meters below.

At a traditional Georgian supra (feast), the tamada (toastmaster) leads a structured sequence of toasts—to God, to Georgia, to ancestors, to women, to children, to peace. You cannot sip freely; you drink only when the tamada proposes. A full supra can last 5+ hours and involve drinking from a kantsi (horn), which cannot be set down until emptied.

On Santorini, vines are trained into basket shapes called 'kouloura' (meaning 'crown') that sit directly on the volcanic soil, protecting grapes from the relentless Aegean winds. Some of these ungrafted vines are over 200 years old—phylloxera never reached the volcanic island.

The no-beer-clinking tradition has been officially observed since 1849. Though the 150-year 'statute of limitations' technically expired in 1999, most Hungarians still refuse to clink beer glasses. Wine glasses are fine to clink—it's only beer that carries the taboo.

A Heuriger is a wine tavern where a vintner serves only their own wine, with cold buffet food. The tradition was established by Joseph II in 1784, who granted vintners the right to sell their wine directly. A pine branch (Buschen) above the door means it's open. Viennese Heurigen culture is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Marlborough's first Sauvignon Blanc vines were planted in 1973, making New Zealand's most famous wine style barely 50 years old. The region now produces 77% of all NZ wine. Montana (now Brancott Estate) planted the first vines on land a government viticulturist said was 'unsuitable for grape growing'.

Canada is the world's largest producer of Icewine—grapes must be naturally frozen on the vine at -8°C (17.6°F) or below, and harvested by hand in the middle of the night. It takes an entire vine to produce a single 375ml bottle, which is why genuine Canadian Icewine costs $30-100+ per half-bottle.

Japan's winemaking dates back further than most people realize—Portuguese missionaries brought wine in the 16th century, and domestic production began in the 1870s. The Koshu grape, which arrived via the Silk Road, has been grown in Yamanashi Prefecture since the 8th century. Today, Chateau Mercian's Koshu wins medals at Decanter World Wine Awards.

In 2001, UC Davis researchers used DNA profiling to prove that California's beloved Zinfandel grape originated in Croatia. The grape, known locally as Crljenak Kastelanski or Tribidrag, was nearly extinct when a single vine was found growing in a Split garden. Croatian winemakers have since revived it.

Maribor, Slovenia is home to the Štara Trta (Old Vine)—a Žametovka vine over 400 years old, planted in the early 1600s. It is the oldest living grapevine in the world (Guinness World Record) and still produces 35-55 litres of wine annually, bottled in artist-designed miniature bottles given as diplomatic gifts.

During the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), Chateau Musar's Serge Hochar crossed active frontlines to reach his vineyards in the Bekaa Valley. He missed only two vintages (1976 and 1984) in 15 years of war. His wines were championed by wine writer Michael Broadbent at the 1979 Bristol Wine Fair, and today wartime vintages are highly sought by collectors.