This is quite a difficult question which defies a simple response, but if I had to respond to it with just one word, it would be: Burgundy.
One of the main reasons I say that is Burgundy’s famous red wine, known around the world as “Burgundy.” It’s vinified from 100% Pinot Noir grapes and I feel that you’ll get little or no argument from most individuals that a top-drawer Burgundy is the best expression of this temperamental varietal in the world, and, perhaps even the finest red wine in the world. It’s absolutely the world’s most the most high-priced wine in the world. That is to say, Burgundy’s most prestigious wine, Romanee-Conti, of which just about 450 cases are produced per year from grapes produced in the 4.5 acre Romanee-Conti vineyard, is the world’s most high-priced wine. The law of supply and demand is of course at work here but, for example, in 1996, Sotheby’s auctioned off a set of eight bottles of 1990 Romanee-Conti for $224,900; which’s more than $28,000 per bottle for a wine which was produced a mere six years earlier! So, is it in fact worth that kind of cash? Well, in my opinion, definitely not It would seem to me that anyone who has that kind of money to burn, they should spend it on quite a few much more worthy items or causes, but at any rate, here’s what wine critic Clive Coates said about Romanee-Conti:
“This is the purest, most aristocratic and most intense example of Pinot Noir you could possibly imagine. Not only nectar: a yardstick with which to judge all other Burgundies.”
The second reason I believe that Burgundy produces the very best wine of any wine-producing region in the world is their white wines, the two most prestigious of which are Chablis and Montrachet. White Burgundies are more generally known as “white Burgundy,” and mostly produced from 100% Chardonnay grapes. Chardonnay is by far the most popular white wine grape all around the world and, in the view of most experts, finds its greatest expression in Burgundy. Montrachet in particular is thought by many wine lovers to be the greatest dry white wine in the world. Therefore, Burgundy creates arguably both the finest red wines and white wines to be found anywhere, thus, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that it’s the wine producing area where the very best wines come from.
If I had to choose the best wine-producing country in the world, I would have to say France. One reason for that choice is the fantastic wines of Burgundy, but that’s hardly the end of the story. Even though some people consider Burgundy to be the best red in the world, that honor is typically afforded to one more French wine: Bordeaux, produced from the celebrated “Bordeaux blend” of the indigenous French grapes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc–the first two of which are really popular as varietals in both old and new world wine-producing nations.
France also has another excellent white wine-producing area in Alsace, which produces some of the world’s best Rieslings, Gewurztraminers, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blancs, and I haven’t yet gotten to Champagne, which is without parallel among the world’s sparkling wines. One more indication of France’s dominant place in the world of wine is the undeniable influence the country has had on new world producers–North America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and South America are overwhelmingly produced from grapes of French origin.
Add there’s far more: thanks to the reality that France is, in most years, the world’s biggest wine producer (Italy eclipses French production in some years ), there are many excellent French wines available on the market at quite low prices. A couple of areas to investigate for great value are the Loire Valley and southern France. It’s difficult to get outstanding wines made in these areas for just $10.00 to $15.00. In fact, you can even get some fairly descent Bordeaux for really reasonable prices. In fact, France fairly abounds with excellent wine bargains, for exactly the same reason that it also turns out most of the most pricey wines: supply and demand. Although most of France’s most sought-after wines are in restricted supply, the nation also makes an astounding quantity of truly great wine. Even though I have already committed myself that the world’s very best wine comes from France, I would like to addappend a couple of caveats:
- Italy is an additional pretender to the crown of being the world’s greatest wine-producing country. Their wine production is on an equivalent scale to France’s, Italy has an impressive variety of native grape types from which they make a large number of exceptional wines in the many micro-climates Italy is blessed with, and Italian wines are exceptionally food friendly. It’s usually difficult to pair French wines with food, but that is generally a considerably easier task in the case of Italian wines.
- Though Bordeaux is thought by many wine lovers to be the world’s very best red wine, it lost out in a head-to-head contest with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons, on two seperate occasions. The first upset was in 1976 at a blind tasting termed the Judgment of Paris. The eleven judges–nine French, one American and one British–gave superior marks to the Napa offerings, which were contending against some of Bordeaux’s most famous wines. A few critics thought the results inconclusive, claiming that the French wines were certain to age far better than their American counterparts. A re-tasting took place on the thirtieth anniversary of the original taste off in which the same ten wines, ranging in vintage from 1969 to 1973, were once again blind tasted. This time the Napa wines won hands down, with the Napa Valley Cabs being awarded the top 5 slots Therefore it may be argued that the greatest reds in the world are to be found in Napa Valley.
In summary, I believe that, all in all, the best wine in the world is produced in France. But that certainly is not the last word on the matter; there are many more caveats that might be added to the two I mentioned. Quality has been increasing by leaps and bounds in almost every wine-producing nation on the globe for the past two decades at least. I personally routinely consume wines made in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, The United States, Chili and Argentina. All of these countries produce fantastic wines, quite a few at really cheap prices. And there are loads of nations I haven’t talked about which also make interesting, top-notch wines. It would seem to me that the ideal way to reply to the question, “Where does the best wine come from?” is to get stuck in and start tasting a variety of wines from various areasof the world yourself. A good way to do that is to go on wine tours. One region I recommend going to is the Santa Barbara Wine Country. It’s an amazing wine producing area that offers the wine tourist a wide variety of wines.
It may not be the most direct route to uncovering the answer, but it absolutely is the most satisfying.