In the 1950s and 60s, few people would have thought the USA, Argentina or Chile would be capable of producing good wine. So what will we be drinking in forty or fifty years time? Could severe draught make Australia uninhabitable? Might Bordeaux be too cold to grow grapes? Will we be half man, half machine?

Er, okay, so maybe I’m thinking too far ahead. Thirty years ago it was New Zealand on the verge of wine fame. But who’s likely to be producing the next big thing? And do they even know it yet?

China

It has the world’s fifth largest vineyard area and lies fifth in terms of production volume, ahead of Chile, Australia and Argentina. It has the vineyards and the terroir, but not the technical expertise on a nationwide scale to really take advantage of its potential… just yet. With domestic demand rapidly increasing, and cheap labour sure to benefit exports, before you know it we could be enjoying Chardonnay and Cabernet from the provinces north of the Yangtze River.

Greece

Greece has already been producing excellent quality wine for a number of years now, but it has yet to find significant demand abroad. Early Greek colonisation led to vines being planted all around the Mediterrean, laying the foundations for viticulture in the whole area. More than two thirds of production is white wine, from varieties such as Rhoditis, Savatiano and Debina. Red varieties include Mandelaria and Limnio, although international varieties are also becoming popular, perhaps as a way of appealing more to the export markets. My post on Crete is worth checking out. We still have a Syrah to try from there.

India

Like China, domestic consumption and therefore production is on the rise. Just over 10% of India’s grapes harvested are used for wine, with the remainder used for table grapes and raisins. The altitude of vineyards vary based on where they are located throughout the country. The cooler north west state of Punjab is where many of the more established, quality producers are based. Indigenous varieties include Arkavati and Anabeshani. Muscat Hamburg and Isabella are also widely grown, and now more so traditional European varieties.

Romania

This is eastern Europe’s biggest producer by volume, and those who ever tried our V Transylvannia wines will know they actually make some great, well priced wine. We eventually dropped the range because the demand wasn’t there. It was the Greeks who introduced viticulture to this region in the 7th century. Fetească is the most grown white variety, with Merlot being the most planted red, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon. It is said that Bacchus, the god of wine was born here. And my name’s Cindy Crawford.

Lebanon

This is something we get some requests for online and in the shop. I tried a Muscat (or some form of Muscat) in a Lebanese restaurant in Paris a few years ago. It wasn’t a great experience I must admit, but I know wine well enough to realise you can’t form an opinion on one country, region or variety based on a single wine. One of the big problems is that the Lebanese themselves are not terribly keen on wine, so it’s difficult whenever you don’t have more people pushing for higher standards and a better focus on exports. But who knows, things might change. French trained Lebanese winemakers are beginning to excite.

Ireland

*cannot compute*

Check out this post about England, Wales and the “new” New World.

While the New World continues to take the fight to the traditional, some might say, awkward and one- dimensional, Old World producers, it is perhaps the New World who should also be watching their backs, as two of our close neighbours, England and Wales (pictured), are preparing to shake the industry worldwide.

It’s fair to say, nothing is going to happen overnight, but whatever the cause is, our climate is changing and what might define a world class grape growing region today in terms of the optimum climate, we may see an area closer to home benefiting from grape friendly weather in years to come.

We’re expecting great things of our greenhouse ‘grapevine’ experiment. More on that at a later date, but can you seriously imagine a Riesling from Wexford, or a Pinot Noir from Cork?

Already, parts of southern England are being compared with Champagne, and from what I hear, English sparkling wine is not one to be mixing with 7UP these days. More on England here.

Harpers Wine & Spirit recently reported that the Welsh government is attempting to gear their industry toward future success in the business by learning a few tricks from New Zealand. New Zealand’s North Island has been compared to Wales for climate and soil make-up, and the Kiwi nation has seen tremendous growth by small producers over a relatively short period of time. The cider and beer sectors have also been cited as underdeveloped industries in Wales.

Among other up and coming wine nations, Romania, Croatia, Greece – technically Old World countries, but very much unable to fulfil their undoubted potential just yet. It’s not only about the quality of the wines, it’s got a lot to do with the marketing of them.

Poland is another one showing promise. Although the recession has slowed sales growth, Poland’s wine industry is expected to recover quickly and bounce back stronger than before. A growth of 3% is expected in their wine market this year, much better than many others.

So who will rise to the top and who will fall? Will it take a decade, or will it be less before we see real changes? With emerging consumer markets such as China and India, and the French still refusing to market themselves properly, there’s plenty to play for, and as a consumer, plenty to be curious about.

When used in the same sentence, those two words, “English” and “wine” were once followed by a menacing snigger and a contemptuous remark. Well, fellow Irish drinkers, not any more.

English wines haven’t exactly been flooding the Irish market, and neither have they been dominating markets elsewhere, including their own, but we’re talking about very small production here (2 million bottles in comparison to almost 7 billion from France), which naturally incurs a higher price. So no, you’re not going to see the English competing with the sub €6 supermarket brands any time soon.

Global warming is said to be partly to thank for English wines being taken more seriously. With a warmer, drier climate and a slight change in the length of each season, grapes are allowed to ripen more easily. Parts of southern England have been compared to Champagne in terms of climate, and in some areas, the soils don’t differ too much either. No wonder the sparkling wines in particular are gaining special notoriety.

According to the guardian.co.uk, English supermarket chain, Waitrose (the largest retailer of English wines), reported a 163% year-on-year rise in sales of locally stocked English sparkling wines and a 97% rise in sales of nationally produced wine. It has also seen a 50% rise in sales of still wines.

Some English vintners have also enjoyed great success abroad, so there’s no doubting experience and talent in the ranks. For example, a favourite winery of Oz Clarke and Gordon Ramsay is Chateau Bauduc in Bordeaux, run by Englishman Gavin Quinney. But the English have also managed to gain experience on their home patch, and by all accounts it’s really starting to show.

2009 is expected to be one of England’s best vintages, and when this grape growing climate finally hits the southern tip of Ireland, they may just be the people to call on for some sound advice.

Click here to view the recent and relevant guardian.co.uk article on English wine. The above picture is of the successful Surrey based winery, Denbies.