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From a historical point of view, the way French geographers have considered vine and wine through times has developed permanently. Paul Vidal de La Blache is essential to understand the origins of this research topic. Roger Dion both took after Vidal and considerably updated approaches to the subject. His contribution was so important that later geographers would do little more than criticise his work and pursue the rigid nature versus culture argument. Consequently, the study of wine became more and more marginal to the geographic field, especially with «new geography» currents. Howerver, cultural geography has recently contributed to renew the debate.

In the past wine used to be sold in casks and drunk especially in taverns. The label, which appeared two hundred years ago, was intended only for well-to-do and very minority clientèle. For the most part the written infor mation mattered less than trust in the merchant the best guarantee for the quality of the product. But the many crises that shook the sector in the last century weakened that trust. As a consequency denominations of origin and the bottling in duly labeled bottles were developed. The language of label always had two simultaneous aims : information and aspect. The complexity of its message which reflects artistic and graphic fashions apart from the history of the wine itself, is due to the combination of objective and subjective factors. But the label doesn't merely describe the wine. It also suggests lot. The label must simultaneously inform, charm, convince and enhance the value of the wine contained in the bottle and of the choice as well. So the label uses a more and more complex language, whilst its reduced dimensions make rigourous codification necessary. Its importance communication about wine increased with self-service distribution and advertising restrictions.

After several years of decrease, the volume of consumption is now steady despite the increasing number of new consumers and important structural changes. An overview of evolutions in different countries allows to explain the different trends of Worldwide exchanges, showing a new image of the winegrowing planet.

This paper provides an account of the philosopher John Locke's impressions of French viticulture and wine making derived from his travels in the country in the 1670s. Following an introduction exploring some aspects of debates over 17th century French agriculture, and the English market for wine, it explores Locke's writings concerning grape varieties, methods of grape growing, wine making practices, the qualities of wines, and the economics of the 17th century wine trade.

Created in the Bordelais during the second half of the 19th century, the word «château» to designate a wine-growing estate and its quality wine, has been a fantastic success. At the end of the 20th century the number of «châteaux» varied between 5 and 10,000, dépending on estimates. This incredible increase due to a lack of legal définition of the term, was stopped in 1993 by an official text: it now forbidden to use different names of «château» for one estate in Bordeaux. Anyway the term is now employed in many others French viticultural areas (Sud-Ouest aquitain, Languedoc, Provence...). Translated into foreign languages (English, Spanish, Catalan...) or remaining in French, the word is now present all over the world (in Spain, Greece, South and North America, Australia...).

Few wine growing regions are as different from one another as Bordeaux and Champagne are. «Bordeaux» implies a notion of «château» (i.e. an estate) whereas Champagne could be considered as a commercial brand. They appear to have two different business as well as geographical strategies, which confer a deep sense of identity on each wine-growing region. Through the examples of communication, marketing as well as the functioning of their respective economies (and the consequences on the development of specific rural landscapes) we can grasp the importance of the contrasts between the two Systems. Rather than just comparing the two rural landscapes, we will try to grasp as precisely as possible the interactions between business and production so as to learn more about the special natures of these two prestigious wine-growing regions. The very special nature of Bordeaux emerges from the comparison between those two logics (thanks to a new conception of wine growing which is «vin de propriété» i.e. wine grown within the estate). This logic diverges from that of «cru» (i.e. «local wine» which implies a larger wine growing area than the «château») which as been adopted by many regions. The «cru» System follows the business logic of Champagne. Nevertheless, the example of Bordeaux — which has become more and more fashionable these days around the world, let alone in France — is more mysterious than it appears to be.

Since the sixties, the Burgundy vineyard has undergone important internal transformations which came from modernism, as well as external ones, which were imposed by commercial changes. Taking advantage of their historical reputation, the producers sell their wines all over the world. With so many, often tiny, appellations the output has grown very quickly to satisfy the growing demand of the market, creating unrecognisable wines as a resuit. Little by little, the wine market has become international and new countries produce cheaper and better quality wines. In this new context, the Burgundy vineyards want to keep their usual customers, who like quality products, and at the same time, they are on the lookout for a new generation of buyers. This challenge creates more consciousness of the traditional « know-how» and this will probably change the classification of some of the appellations.

The wine-producing crisis in the 30s meant the vineyards of Hautes-Côtes de Beaune and Nuits were relegated as a result of the labels of origin. In 1945 the Hautes-Côtes de Beaune wine growers created a new wine producing syndicate. They wanted to obtain a new geographic indication to cover their producing expenses and avoid departures from the land. To ensure success, they decided to restructure the vineyard and to advertise their wines. Improvement of the vineyard was assisted by some Hautes-Côtes and Côte wine-growers, formerly from the JAC and the Young Wine Professionals' Group. These "young Turks" insisted on young wine-growers' professionals training. They were rewarded by abtaining their INAO label.

All over Hungary, winemakers and vineyards have changed since 1991. Some areas became more prominent such as Villany vineyards or Tokajhegyalja ones; others, specially low quality ones, are on the decline. High touristic pressure and urban sprawl are locally threatening good wine areas, like North lake Balaton. The old dualism between smallholders and great estates which lasted through different political Systems has now changed to include middle-size holdings and more diversified, qualities and prices. Some of these new family-run cellars are internationally known. Wine was also an agricultural investment likely to attract foreign capital, specially in the Tokaj area. Some prominent wine and spirits companies from France, Germany or Spain are operating there, side by side with newcomers from the USA and other countries, as well as local investors and growers.

The Duero vineyards were famous in the Middle Ages and exported their wine to the Cantabric Coast, but in the 19th century and the early 20th, they suffered a severe recession. From 1980, they have experienced a remarkable revival, thanks to the dynamism of many firms and to the creation of three guaranteed geographie indications (Denominaciones de Origen) : D.O. Rueda, D.O. Ribera del Duero y D.O. Toro. Major investments were required for the construction of modern wine cellars (bodegas) and for the plantation of large vineyards. The conducting method for planting «espaldera» makes mecanization and motorization easier. In spite of the introduction of few foreign vines (sauvignon, cabernet sauvignon, merlot...), the greatest part of the wines are produced with the grapes of traditional varieties, verdejo for the white wines, tinto fino (tempranillo) for the red wines. Duero vineyards preserve their originality and escape the present standardisation of the wines. Thanks to this good management, the Duero wines have both national and international consumers. This favourable result has been an incentive for other vineyards of the Duero area to improve quality and to ask for new «Denominaciones de Origen».

France tends to ignore Sherry wines though for Sherries have virtually no competition in France, not even the Yellow wine from Jura. In the middle of the 19th century, the largest Sherry companies had commercial agents in France. As soon as 1830, Sherry wines were reexported from France. This country was a field testing country for brandy. Today, Sherry has almost disappeared and France mostly consumes Port wine. Sherry is favored only by Spanish residents in France or by feria fans. However, there are grey market imports in south-west France which is close to Spain. French market for Sherry wines, if not an economical subject in itself seems to be worthy of interest from a geographical point of view : as an historical study, Sherry in France is socio-cultural mark that easily differentiates one French region from another

The consumption and production of wine reflect the evolution of markets between local and global Due to the increase in wine consumption in new countries, many wines are not marketed under geographic names but under grape names : Chardonnay, Cabernet, for example. Major wine groups, knowing this trend, invest where it is possible to produce good quality wines at interesting prices

New Zealand is one of the New World countries which have experienced consistent growth in its wine industry since 1960. Although vine has been grown in New Zealand since the early nineteenth century, the modern period has been especially interesting geographically because the regional distribution of vines has been transformed. Explanation of this regional expansion of the industry is the first major theme of this paper. The second part of the paper addresses the transformations in varieties that has occurred and the regional specialisations that are emerging. The paper addresses two main theoretical issues deriving from the French literature What does the recent experience of New World country reveal about the role of climate and soils in association with culture and history in understanding the evolution of its wine industry ? What part has empirical experience of growing vines in different environments played in the evolving geography of the New Zealand wine industry?