European Fine Wines

Despite wines from the "New World" (as the wine trade calls anywhere outside Europe) invading our shelves in the last twenty years, Europe still produces over two-thirds of the world's wine and a major share of the rare and fine wines so appreciated by the connoisseur.

With centuries of wine making experience and fine wine tradition to go on, European wines still set the standard for other fine wines to aspire to.

The major European wine producing countries - French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese being the major producers - with smaller producers such as German, Austrian, Greek, Luxembourg and even English - make a vast range of wines of every style and all qualities.

In “fine wines”, the Old World has few real competitors and although there are an increasing number of good wines to very good wines from New World, few are able to match the best wines from the Old World.

The very best wines in Europe come from the more temperate areas, where summer temperatures are not too high and where growing seasons are lengthened by cooler ripening conditions.

" European wines still set the standard for other fine wines to aspire to "

In these areas, growers produce fine wines of balance and complexity, fine wines that will keep and improve with age.

Increasingly, the former eastern block countries are also turning themselves into world-class wine producers and some of the wines from Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and some of the old USSR countries are worth considering, especially in the lower price ranges.