Encyclopedia

Regions.

Forty-nine wine regions — geology, history, classification, and the producers we know in each.

This is the reference shelf for places, not bottles. The /cellar/ section of the site is for what is on the floor right now; this section is for understanding the geography, geology, and culture behind those bottles. Each entry covers the land, the local classification system, the producers Boulder Wine Merchant works with most, and the vintages currently worth chasing. The regions below are grouped by country and oriented to the way a working sommelier would think about a global cellar.

France

Côte d’Or

Burgundy

The most carefully mapped wine landscape on earth.

Médoc & Right Bank

Bordeaux

France’s largest fine-wine region — the reference for structured, age-worthy red blends.

Méthode Champenoise

Champagne

The world’s reference sparkling wine, from the northernmost serious wine region in France.

Granite Slopes

Northern Rhône

Eight tiny appellations — Syrah on granite at its most savory.

Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Southern Rhône

The Mediterranean half — Grenache-led blends and the famous galets of Châteauneuf.

Riesling, Gewürz, Pinot Gris

Alsace

France’s most German-feeling wine region.

Sancerre to Muscadet

Loire Valley

The longest river-spanning wine region in France.

Cru Gamay

Beaujolais

Gamay’s spiritual home — granite, schist, and ten named crus.

Vin Jaune

Jura

The eccentric region between Burgundy and Switzerland.

Bandol & Rosé

Provence

The rosé capital of the world — and home of Bandol Mourvèdre.

Old-Vine Mediterranean

Languedoc-Roussillon

The largest wine region in the world — and quietly exciting at every level.

Cahors, Madiran, Jurançon

Southwest France

The forgotten fine-wine region — indigenous grapes and serious producers.

Italy

Barolo & Barbaresco

Piedmont

Nebbiolo on Langhe limestone.

Sangiovese country

Tuscany

The heartland of Chianti, Brunello, and the Super Tuscans.

Amarone & Soave

Veneto

Italy’s largest producer — home of Amarone, Soave, and Prosecco.

Orange Wine

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

Italy’s serious white-wine region and home of the orange-wine revolution.

Alpine Italy

Trentino-Alto Adige

Italy’s alpine wine region — German-speaking in the north, Italian in the south.

Franciacorta & Valtellina

Lombardy

Italy’s most serious sparkling region — and a Nebbiolo home on alpine slopes.

Lambrusco & Sangiovese

Emilia-Romagna

Parma, Modena, and the home of real Lambrusco.

Verdicchio

Marche

Italy’s quiet east-coast wine region.

Sagrantino

Umbria

Italy’s only landlocked wine region — and home of the world’s most tannic red.

Volcanic Whites

Campania

Taurasi, Greco di Tufo, Fiano di Avellino — volcanic-soil wines around Naples.

Montepulciano

Abruzzo

Italy’s mountainous east-coast region — Valentini, Pepe, and serious value.

Etna & Nero d’Avola

Sicily

One of the most exciting fine-wine regions in modern Italy.

Cannonau & Carignano

Sardinia

The Mediterranean’s second-largest island, with serious indigenous grapes.

Germany and Austria

Slate-Slope Riesling

Mosel and Germany

The most precise terroir-driven white wine made.

Classical Riesling

Rheingau

Germany’s gentler, riper, more powerful classical Riesling.

Riesling & Spätburgunder

Pfalz

Germany’s largest serious Riesling region — sunny, dry, diverse.

Volcanic & Slate Riesling

Nahe

Germany’s most geologically diverse wine region.

Grüner & Blaufränkisch

Austria

Central Europe’s serious wine country.

Spain and Portugal

Gran Reserva

Rioja

Spain’s historical fine-wine region — long-aged, age-worthy Tempranillo.

High-Altitude Tempranillo

Ribera del Duero

Spain’s high-altitude Tempranillo zone — Vega Sicilia, Pingus, brutal continental climate.

Llicorella Schist

Priorat

Catalonia’s mountain-and-schist zone — one of Spain’s two DOCa appellations.

Albariño

Rías Baixas

Galicia’s Atlantic-facing Albariño homeland.

Sherry

Jerez

The chalk triangle of Andalucía — home of Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, and PX.

Port & Dry Douro

Douro Valley

The terraced schist hillsides — home of Vintage Port.

Atlantic Heat-Aged Wine

Madeira

The Atlantic-island region whose unique heating process produces some of the longest-lived wines on earth.

Greece and Hungary

Mediterranean Cradle

Greece

The cradle of European winemaking — Assyrtiko, Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko.

Botrytized Sweet Wine

Tokaj (Hungary)

The home of the wine of kings — and one of the most historic regions in Europe.

New World — North America

Cabernet

New World — Southern Hemisphere

Old-Vine Shiraz