Skip to content

Period — 1700–1875

Classifications & the Golden Age

The age that wrote wine's rulebooks. Treaties made fortunes — Methuen sent Port to every English table — and states began drawing lines on maps: Chianti delimited in 1716, the Douro demarcated in 1756, the Médoc and Sauternes classified in 1855. Barolo turned dry, Rioja learned the barrique, Champagne became an industry, and cuttings of Europe's grapes — Malbec among them — sailed for the southern hemisphere just in time to preserve what the coming plague would destroy at home.

Key events

1703The Methuen Treaty opens England to Port
1716Cosimo III delimits Chianti — among the world's first appellations
1737A royal decree closes the Tokaj region — the world's first
1756Pombal demarcates the Douro, the first regulated wine region
1775The late courier of Schloss Johannisberg — Spätlese is born of a delay
1776American independence is toasted in Madeira — the ocean-aged wine of the colonies
1853Pouget carries French cuttings — Malbec included — to Mendoza
1855The classification of the Médoc and Sauternes

The grapes of the era

Indicative presence index, 0–100

70

Cabernet Sauvignon

55

55

55

55

55

50

Trebbiano (Ugni Blanc)

50

45

45

45

Touriga Nacional

45

45

45

45

45

45

45

40

40

40

40

40

35

35

35

35

35

35

35

35

35

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

Grüner Veltliner

30

30

30

Melon de Bourgogne

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

30

25

Gewürztraminer

25

25

25

25

25

25

25

25

25

25

20

Sauvignon Blanc

20

20

20

20

20

Nerello Mascalese

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

15

15

15

15

15

15

15

15

15

15

15

10

10

10

10

Magdeleine Noire des Charentes

10

10

8

The wines of the era

Médoc Red Red wine Tokaji Aszú Sweet white Hermitage Red wine Mosel Riesling Dry white Champagne Sparkling Rioja Red wine Port Fortified Madeira Fortified Sauternes Sweet white Red Burgundy Red wine Chianti Red wine Sherry Fortified Rheingau Riesling Dry white Marsala Fortified Graves & Pessac-Léognan Red Red wine Barolo Red wine White Burgundy Dry white Bandol Red wine Condrieu Dry white Soave Dry white Dão Red Red wine Saint-Émilion Red Red wine Vouvray Dry white Chablis Dry white Dolcetto d'Alba Red wine Alentejo Red Red wine Beaujolais Red wine California Zinfandel Red wine Gavi Dry white Nemea Red wine Alto Adige Lagrein Red wine Dry White Bordeaux Dry white Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red wine Barbera d'Asti Red wine Muscadet Dry white Cahors Red wine Vin Jaune Dry white Jurançon Sweet white Blanquette de Limoux Sparkling Franken Silvaner Dry white Montefalco Sagrantino Red wine Arbois Trousseau Red wine Côte-Rôtie Red wine Alsace Gewurztraminer Dry white Brunello di Montalcino Red wine Wachau Grüner Veltliner Dry white Qvevri Saperavi Red wine Madiran Red wine Moscato d'Asti Sparkling Burgenland Blaufränkisch Red wine Nero d'Avola Red wine Primitivo di Manduria Red wine Ribera del Duero Red wine Arbois Poulsard Red wine Fendant Dry white Qvevri Amber Wine Dry white Sancerre Dry white Mendoza Malbec Red wine Côtes de Provence rosé Rosé Amarone della Valpolicella Red wine Santorini Assyrtiko Dry white Barossa Shiraz Red wine Corbières Red wine Priorat Red wine Naoussa Red wine Etna Rosso Red wine Bouzeron Dry white Cour-Cheverny Dry white Savoie Mondeuse Red wine Cannonau di Sardegna Red wine Utiel-Requena Bobal Red wine Colares Red wine Taurasi Red wine Dingač Red wine Chilean País Red wine Hunter Valley Sémillon Dry white Pomerol Red wine Napa Cabernet Red wine Prosecco Sparkling Pinot Grigio delle Venezie Dry white Rías Baixas Albariño Dry white Chilean Carmenère Red wine Rueda Dry white Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Red wine Argentine Torrontés Dry white Vinho Verde Dry white Cava Sparkling Apremont Dry white Patrimonio Red wine Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Dry white Lambrusco Sparkling Commandaria Sweet white Retsina Dry white Uruguayan Tannat Red wine Clairet Rosé Bierzo Red wine Valdeorras Godello Dry white Fiano di Avellino Dry white Cirò Red wine Crémant de Bordeaux Sparkling English Sparkling Sparkling Coonawarra Cabernet Red wine