#Wine maps europe how to#

Rather what maps we have dating from Roman times are tabula, charts that were effectively designed to show mariners how to navigate from one seaport to another. In ancient times the concept of an accurate map showing, for instance, the continent of Europe was unheard of. Maps have not always looked the way they do now. To fully understand the manner in which modern wine maps emerged we need to take a panoramic view of the history of cartography. Here we examine the history of wine maps and show how they have emerged in modern times as cartographic knowledge has developed since the sixteenth century. If you visit a winery in France or Oregon or New Zealand today, there is a good chance they will sell maps of this kind, highlighting the viticultural landscape of their regions. Wine cartography is big business, with detailed maps of famous wine districts highlighting famed wineries and charting the main grape varietals grown in places like Napa Valley or the Loire Valley retailing for forty or fifty dollars apiece. Run a google search on ‘wine’ and ‘maps’ and you will be greeted by a torrent of sites dealing with the subject. Maps and wine are almost synonymous with each other online today. We often talk about wine history, but there is an under-explored and under-appreciated aspect of wine history–the history of wine maps. Mapping the World of Wine: A History of Wine Maps

Wine maps europe