Where are Grape Grown

I’m sure you’ve seen pictures in magazines and brochures of grape vines growing in the beautiful sunshine of France, South Africa and Australia but there are also other less picturesque locations where grapes are grown.

In fact, the answer to the question ‘where are grapes grown’ could be anywhere as long as the conditions are right.

Grapes like any fruit or vegetable need the right conditions to grow and flourish. If they are being grown on a commercial basis they also need a lot more land than grapes only being grown for personal use. What ever scale and wherever grapes are grown on, there are a few things, amongst others, which are essential for a good crop: 

• Nutrient rich soil
• Sufficient water, but not too much
• Warmth 

It is possible to achieve the essentials artificially if you are growing grapes in cooler climates by growing them in a glass house where you have full control over watering, etc.

So “Where are grapes grown?” We’ve already mentioned France, South Africa and Australia and if you think of the world as a globe the latitudes between France and Australia have some other great and also up and coming wine areas. South America, the countries around the Mediterranean, and the USA all produce excellent wine. 

Some of them use the same grape varieties and achieve very different flavoured wines, showing that the growing conditions are very important to a wine’s flavour.

But….there’s always a but. Grapes are grown in countries which you wouldn’t expect. Ontario, Canada on the east coast has a temperature which is cold and wet some of the time, the Bekaa Valley in the Lebanon blends a local grape with Cabinet Sauvignon and a French - Chinese company has grapes growing in China. 

But first prize for the most unusual place where grapes are grown has to go to a wine produced in Thailand. These Thai grapes are grown on the plain between the Chao Phraya River and the river Kwai, known locally as the ‘floating vineyards’.

So now if you’re ever asked ‘where are grapes grown’ you can say with confidence that they are grown all over the world in very different conditions and it’s nice to know that it’s not just the countries we are familiar with that produce good wine. 

There are people out there who have difficult conditions to work with but still struggle with bad weather, soil and lack of sunlight to produce something which can be enjoyed. Good luck to them.