#VINTAGE WINE MAPS FULL#
#VINTAGE WINE MAPS PLUS#

Other Places to Buy Wine Maps (or Get Them for Free!)ĪOC / Appellation office in wine region (cheap or free) or tourism offices (for example Napa Valley Vinters or St. Steve’s wine maps are made by painstakingly reviewing the governmental documents of various countries followed by tedious proofreading. Behind the scenes there’s also a lot of emailing to confirm content.

#VINTAGE WINE MAPS FULL#

What started as a side gig for Steve has turned into a full time small business dedicated to making limited production high-quality wine maps. When Steve got started, he didn’t realize what a demand there is for high quality wine maps. In fact, there’s been such demand for the maps that a few years ago counterfeiters made illegal and low-quality copies of his maps and sold them on Amazon! Thankfully, that’s not a problem today. Steve De Long was an architect with a passion for wine. When he first started looking at wine maps in the early 2000s, he thought, “Well, that’s been done.” However, after digging deeper into the topic he found that a lot of wine maps were full of errors.

#VINTAGE WINE MAPS PLUS#

We also share a great comprehensive set of wine maps plus a few examples of good wine maps for planning a visit to wine country. Wine lovers and serious students of wine will routinely point to the first two resources we list here as the best wine maps. Tourist wine maps can be found on the websites of wineries in the region you plan to visit (we’ve also listed a few below!).

Antique wine maps, great for collectors, can be found on eBay or Etsy. Wine pros, who may use maps for educating others about wine, tend to rely on DeLong maps or The World Atlas of Wine (more on those below!).Īntique Wine Maps. Wine maps are very colorful and make beautiful framed art for dining rooms, living rooms, and kitchens. what land is in or out of scope for labeling purposes). These maps tend to focus on on geography, individual vineyards, geology, water, proximity to bodies of water and mountains or valleys (elevation), regulation aspects like the delimitation lines for an AOC or appellation (e.g. Wine maps are used in a variety of purposes and by different types of users. What Are the Different Purposes for Wine Maps? People copy from each other and errors proliferate (as is so common on the internet!). We can direct you towards the most reputable wine map makers, but remember that even the best maps may have typos and errors, as they are all made by humans. It’s important to know, though, when buying a wine map, that many wine maps online and in print will have errors. In fact, many sommeliers and wine collectors have larger collections of wine books and maps than they do of wine! You certainly don’t need a wine map to enjoy wine, but it can definitely be an entertaining accompaniment to your evening pour. Wine students and enthusiasts also have an interest in learning the geographic areas that are in scope of AOCs or appellations. Wine reflects the quality of the soil and the sunlight of its region, as well as the particular details of elevation and climate. You can learn a lot about a wine by studying the map of where it is grown. More so than other agricultural products (there are no asparagus maps, for example), wines carry the characteristics of the places they are grown in their taste, color, and aroma.

Or, if you’ve already done a great deal of traveling in wine country, wine maps can take you back to the terraced vineyards of the rustic Rhone Valley or the rolling hills of Saint-Émilion in Bordeaux. Wine is an agricultural product. With the label on the bottle indicating origin, a bottle of wine invokes a sense of place. Lovers of wine often have a case of wanderlust, and poring over wine maps (as you enjoy a glass of wine from that region) can help satisfy that passion for travel. Thanks for using our affiliate links and supporting our independent blog! Why All The Wine Maps? The commissions we receive help us pay for web hosting fees, products to test, and other costs associated with running this site. We are an affiliate and we do receive a small commission if you purchase items through our affiliate links at no cost to you. Whether you want a wine map for wine education, as home decor, or to plan a trip, we’ve got the 411 on all the best wine maps!īefore we continue with our recommendations, though, a little about the KnowWines blog.

We’ll also share where you can get great wine maps of your own. So, why all the maps? In today’s blog, we explain why wine maps are so beloved to wine enthusiasts. In wine shops, you’ll see them on display, on shelf talkers, and as handouts. Anyone who has been to a wine shop or tasting is likely familiar with wine maps (and wine lovers’ affinity for them).

Vintage wine maps