Cool Climate Wines

Of the factors contributing to quality wine, it may be argued that none is more influential than climate. Without the proper climate, you cannot have quality grapes, and no amount of winemaking skill can reverse this fact. The heat accumulation during the grape growing period (April - October in the Northern Hemisphere) gives a likely indication of the ripening potential of a particular climate. Climates are graded into five categories, with the Cool Climate experiencing a Mean July Temperature of 63 - 66 degrees. Latitude also plays a role, and you can see why when two cool climate areas like Oregon & Champagne differ in sunshine hours during growing season by 350 hours--with Oregon getting the most.

Qualifying wine producing regions in the Old World include: Alsace, Champagne, most of The Loire in France; Rias Baixas in Spain; Germany

Qualifying wine producing regions in the New World include: Victoria & Tasmania in Australia; New Zealand; Oregon; Carneros, Santa Barbara and Monterey Counties in California