The Republic of Latvia (Latvijas Republika in Latvian) with its capital Riga is the centre of the three Baltic states and covers 64,594 km². The former USSR state has been independent since 1991. Latvia borders Lithuania to the south, Belarus to the south-east, Russia to the east, Estonia to the north and the Baltic Sea to the west. In the small town of Sabile in the centre of the Curonian Peninsula to the west is the world's northernmost vineyard at 57 degrees latitude with 1.5 hectares of vines. The wine-growing tradition on this mountain dates back to the 16th century. A wine festival is organised here every year. Zilga is a frost-hardy vine bred for local climatic conditions. Wine is made from grapes, fruit, berries and even flowers. The annual wine production volume is around 20,000 hectolitres.
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi