www.wineoftheweek.com
edited by Sue Courtney
e-mail address: winetaster@clear.net.nz

Wine Regions of the World

England and Western Europe
Is Port wine a mystery to you? Then check out oportwines.com for the lowdown on the various styles, grape varieties, history of the region and so forth - retail.

Peter Ruhrberg's German Wine Page' is chock full of information on German wine labels, grape varieties, regions and producers complete with maps, history of German wine, buying and ageing, vintage charts and heaps more. Well worth bookmarking.

Check out www.bordeaux.com for everything related to the Bordeaux wine region in France. Great graphics too.

For all things Champagne check out www.champagnemagic.com.

Here's a useful resource to bookmark and remember www.frenchwinesfood.com.

The Emilio Lustau web site is a mine of information about Sherry - Spain's great gift to the world of wine.

www.italianmade.com is the Italian Trade Commission's official site of the foods and wines of Italy. Lots to explore, including history, regions and wines.

Eastern Europe
The Winesof Moldova - a place where the culture of the vine dates back to pre-historical times.

Ancient Vines . . . Modern Wines. An introduction to the wines of Greece from greekwinemakers.com.

A long history of wine in Israel.

North America
Canada
www.bcwine.com - your guide to British Columbian wine.

Receiving a bottle of Canadian Ice Wine as a gift, I wanted to know more. I found these links - Ontario Grapes, an article on winemouse.com and an Andrew Jones' Wine on the Web article.

USA
Did you know there are wineries now in just about every State in the USA. Even Alaska has two wineries, according to Bob Hodge's www.allamericanwineries.com website. Check it out. You will be surprised at what you find.

California
Steve O's California Wine Touring Guide is a great resource for the California wineries and associated links.

Bonny Doon Vineyard provides one of the most entertaining wine websites on the web. The oenoscopic Laboratory is full of demented ideas and there's lots of PR about Screwcaps and Jancis Robinson' eulogy on the Death of the Cork.

San Pasqual Winery near San Diego in Southern California has good resources on its website including a comprehensive section on winemaking, recipes and infortmation about grape varieties.

California Wine Online provides a wine information guide for California including: how to buy wine online, featured California wine clubs, Sonoma and Napa Valley winery history and tour information.

California Wine Tours - an insider's guide to California's regions, wineries, varietals, terroir, and history.

Oregon
Oregon in the USA ranks as one of the best Pinot Noir producing areas of the world outside of Burgundy in France and one of the best Pinot Gris producing areas outside of Alsace in France. Check out Jean Yate's Avalon Pacific Northwest Wine and Gourmet for news and views about this region.

The Pacific North West Wines Site is another great Internet resource with maps and information about the American North West wine making regions which include the Oregon and Washington (US) and British Columbia (Canada). A great resource for those like me who have heaps to learn about this exciting north west region.

New England
NewEnglandVine.com - an online resource for wine enthusiasts in the New England region of the United States.

General USA

If you are interested in the release date of US wines, check out WineRelease.com.

Resource Guide to Zinfandel published by the US organisation, the Zinfandel Advocates and Producers (ZAP).

South America
Chile - Wines of Chile
Argentina - WinesofArgentina.com

Africa
The South African Wine Industry Site South African Wine Industry Information and Systems website.

Asia

CHINA
www.winechina.com - China Wines Informational website.
www.winechina.com - Wine China

THAILAND www.tatnews.org - A Guide to Thai Wines by Laurence Civil

New Zealand Regional Sites
For more New Zealand regional information, check out the About NZ pages right here on this site.

Northland
My Northland Regional Wine Guide.

Matakana
www.matakanawine.com.

Auckland
My Auckland Regional Wine Guide.

You could also check out Auckland Tourism to download their winery brochure which you can also pick up from the official Visitor Centres.

The Waiheke Winegrowers Association website www.waihekewine.co.nz has a map of the locations of the Waiheke wineries and links to wineries with websites.

Waikato
My Waikato Regional Wine Guide.

Gisborne
www.gisbornewine.co.nz has a location map of the region, a list of wineries, the history of the region and other information.

Hawkes Bay
www.hawkesbaywines.com - a map of the wine producing area plus a list of wineries with address, telephone and opening times.

http://www.hb.co.nz/leisure/wineries.htm also provides a list of the wineries in the region with their address and for some a very brief comment as well. It is not a complete list but another page on this site links to some of the tour operators in the area.

Wairarapa
http://www.toastmartinborough.co.nz - click to the 'Wineries' page to view a map of the Martinborough central wineries and links to the vineyard websites if they have one.

This expanding area of Wairarapa now includes the area to the north of Martinborough. http://wairarapa.co.nz/tourism/wine.html has additional information on the wine trails over the whole Wairarapa region, however some notable wineries that are open to the public, are missing.

Marlborough
www.winemarlborough.net.nz has a downloadable wine trail map as welll as a directory of the Marlborough wineries and links to websites where applicable.

Nelson
Nelson Wines has a map, winery listings including opening times, contact details and link to web page if available. Most wineries are listed.

Canterbury
www.canterbury-fare.co.nz has the most up-to-date listing of the Canterbury wineries, including those that have just arrived on the scene, but unfortunately there is no wine trail map. But the information provided is excellent.
http://www.canterburyvindepays.co.nz/ is a wine tour company that offers specialised tours for a minimum of two people and includes wine trail maps on their site.

Central Otago
http://www.otagowine.com has a wine trail map of all the wineries open to public. Many Central Otago wines also available for sale, including some very rare, limited availability wines from tiny producers. This site is well worth a look.

Australia
Wine Australia Gateway to Australian Wine with many key links.
The National Wine Centre of Australia.
The Uncorked Wine Cellar with links to many wine regions, wineries and other vinous things Oz.

Barossa Valley Wine Guide.
Hunter Valley Wine Guide.
The Western Australia Wine Site.

Grapey Links
The Brown Brother Orange Muscat and Flora sent me for a search for info on the Muscat grape. I found it here at Vintage Cellars Muscat Page.

Corks and Stuff
Cork from Tree to Bottle is an interesting and educational photo essay by Cork Supply, USA.

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E-mail me: winetaster@clear.net.nz