![]() For the first time, European cartographers began using scientific methods to produce accurate maps of European nations, the continent as a whole, and the wider world. Things began to change rapidly, though, from the sixteenth century onwards. Rome and Jerusalem were given pride of place within it and any effort at scientific accuracy in depicting somewhere like the wine-growing French countryside was sacrificed for the sake of this Christian impetus. To examine a medieval map such as the famed Hereford Mappa Mundi dating to around 1300 is to look at a map that was constructed on religious lines. The medieval period did not bring any improvements. The coastline of the Mediterranean or the Black Sea was depicted, as settlements, but these cannot be said to have been accurate in any modern sense. 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
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