The top wine-producing countries in the world

Visualizing California's wine production

While Europe has France, Italy, and Spain, the US has California. The bulk of US wine production takes place in the Golden State, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the United States’ nearly 800 million gallons produced each year. This chart compares California and United States wine production from 1995 through 2022. Production in both has been trending down for several years, partially due to extreme weather events.

The world's top agriculture-producing countries

Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the global economy, and while every country produces some of its own food, some countries dominate the markets. The US, Brazil, and the Netherlands are the world's top three agriculture exporters. See more charts and statistics on the topic with this Investopedia article.

Switzerland is widely considered the world capital of cheese

This charming infographic looks at the cheese-related habits of Europe’s top three cheese-producing countries: Italy, France, and Switzerland. Cheeses in France are reported to be the lightest, and Swiss cheeses the heaviest.

Wine is divided between Old World and New World

The distinction stems from both geography and winemaking technique and tradition. This video breaks down how different viticultural regions fit into each category and the common traits of both Old World and New World wines. It also provides helpful tips for reading Old World wine labels.

Prosecco—Italy's sparkling wine—is produced using the tank method

Italy’s best-known sparkling wine, Prosecco, has many similarities to Champagne. However, Prosecco performs its secondary fermentation in a different manner. Rather than taking place in the bottle using the French method, fermentation of Prosecco takes place in large, pressurized steel tanks, making it easier to produce on a large scale. The technique results in light, fresh flavors and plenty of bubbles.

There are more than three dozen grape varieties in Napa

Cabernet sauvignon is Napa’s most popular grape, accounting for 40% of production, followed by chardonnay.

The Judgment of Paris put Napa on the world stage

Napa wines burst onto the world stage in 1976 when a British wine merchant invited nine French wine experts for a blind tasting of French and Californian wines, meaning that the tasters would not know the origin of the wines as they sampled. Unexpectedly, Napa’s wines dominated the tasting. That tasting, called the Judgment of Paris, was the catalyst for California being taken seriously by the global wine community.

The non-alcoholic wine market

A no-nonsense, stats-based exploration of the relatively new market for nonalcoholic wine. Driven by people looking to consume less or no alcohol at all, production of nonalcoholic wine has increased dramatically over the last few years. This report details the basics of nonalcoholic winemaking, as well as the current state of the market and what to expect in the future.

The most expensive EU countries

Among countries in the European Union, Luxembourg has the highest prices (52% higher than the EU average). Romania seems like it's the cheapest option in the EU at 46% below the EU average. Want to see how other countries such as Italy, France and Germany rank? Explore this color-coded map to learn more.

A list of the world's best pizzerias

Italy may be pizza's ancestral home, but it's not the only place where you can get a top-notch slice. This guide, compiled by a team of anonymous judges, ranks the 50 best pizzerias in the world, Italy, the US, and more, offering a bucket list for pizza-loving completists.

A history of Rome and wine

Wine and winemaking were integral parts of everyday Roman life. Wine was used medicinally and for religious rites, as well as for pleasure. It also contributed to the expansion of the Roman empire as wine and grapes were traded throughout the Mediterranean. Roman winemaking practices spread as the empire grew. Without Rome, wine may never have grown into what it became, and vice versa.

Visualizing the world's wealth in 2019

The world has a net worth of $360T. The U.S. economy continues to dominate given its sheer size, Asia and Europe are not that far behind.

Mapping the Middle East showing Sunni and Shia populations by country

France24's interactive visualization shows where each branch of Islam predominates across the region, from Iran's Shia majority to Saudi Arabia's Sunni dominance. The map helps make Middle Eastern politics (and conflicts) more legible.

The world's biggest silver producers, mapped

Mexico, with its deep history of silver mining, is the dominant leader in silver production, with over 200 million ounces (as of 2023), with China and Peru in second and third place. The precious metal is increasingly important for the electronics industry, and its price is expected to keep rising. See a chart of the biggest silver miners here.

View a map of countries with the safest and most dangerous drinking water

More than a quarter of the world's population lives in water-stressed countries, and a similar number use contaminated drinking water sources, which can lead to widespread disease, according to the World Health Organization. The Environmental Performance Index shows which countries have safe drinking water.

Tannins contribute to a wine's composition

Tannins are compounds found in many different types of food, including grape skins. When consumed, they produce a noticeable drying effect in the mouth. Because of the difference in production methods, red wines typically have tannins while white wines do not.

The money behind Eurovision

Countries pay to take part in Eurovision, with the biggest economies—Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain, also known as the Big Five—paying the most. That unequal entry fee is not entirely for charity's sake: The Big Five countries are guaranteed spots in Eurovision's finals.

In 2025, Moët & Chandon was the leading Champagne brand

Valued at nearly $1.5B, Moët & Chandon leads the charge in brand value. Following closely are Chandon and Veuve Clicquot.

Tennis' global evolution

In the 1970s and 1980s, American men and women dominated the top 100 rankings on both tours. But as each tour expanded its global reach, the American dominance declined. This Bleacher Report analysis breaks down the national make-up of the top 100 players for each decade. View maps that show which country gained and lost rankings through each decade and see who is the top country now.

Five charts that changed the world

Data visualization helps us understand the world, providing a powerful way to communicate complicated information in a quick and efficient way. There are many different ways to create graphs, and these five examples—the pie chart, geographic dot...

The best beer cities in the US

This list contains some expected mainstays, like Asheville, North Carolina, and Portland, Oregon, as well as less-mentioned enclaves, like Minneapolis and Richmond, Virginia.

Champagne played a role in resisting the Nazis

When France surrendered to the Nazis in 1940, the invaders occupied the north. This was home to wine regions like Champagne and Bordeaux, which the Nazis were eager to loot. Winemakers took a stand by sheltering dissidents in their cellars, passing intelligence across borders, and even giving their lives to the cause.

A Spanish New Year's Eve tradition is eating 12 grapes at midnight

When midnight hits, participants in Spain, as well as Mexico and some Latin American countries, are encouraged to eat a grape for each of the clock’s strikes. (We’re assuming they’ve got some nice grandfather clocks!) The tradition is intended to bring good luck in the new year. The idea is believed to have originated in the 1890s, but took off when Spanish grape farmers had a surplus harvest.

The history of coffee

From its likely origins in what is now Ethiopia to today's worldwide consumption, this video uses a map to show how coffee conquered the world. Follow along and see how pilgrimages and centuries of trade influenced the spread of the beverage we all know so well.

About 10% of the world's crude oil and 32% of its natural gas is reached via fracking

Most of the world's shale oil resources—which are recoverable via fracking—are found in Russia, the US, China, Argentina, and Libya. The majority of equivalent shale gas resources are found in China, Argentina, Algeria, the US, Canada, and Mexico.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Poison ivy was sent to Europe in the 1600s as an exotic, ornamental oddity, where it was purposefully grown in the English royal gardens at Kew, the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, and a few other locations.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Three Ebola species are responsible for most large outbreaks of the disease, yet the only approved Ebola vaccine is known to work against just one of them.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.