VITIS VINIFERA

The best wines are made from a type of vine known as Vitis Vinifera. Some of which are known to be three hundred years old. This wine grows best in this broad belts one north and the other south of the equator. Grapes can be grown outside these belts and be turned into wine, but its quality is not considered as high as that from vines grown within these belts. The northern belt includes knowledgeable wine making countries such as France, Italy, Germany and the United States. The Southern belt embraces Chile, Argentina, Australia and South Africa. Vines will yield more grapes when planted in fertile soil on flat land but the wine made from such grapes will seldom be comparable in quality to wine made from grapes grown on sunny slopes in soil that may not be fertile but is rich in the mineral that create a special characteristic, known as bouquet, that is present in all quality wines.

As the grapes mature, their sugar content increases and their acid content decreases. Grape growers thus must know when the balance between sugar and acid is just right to produce the best wine.