The criteria for the suitability of a region for wine-growing are referred to as wine-growing eligibility. According to the climatic conditions, the countries of the EU are divided into three main zones A, B and (with 5 subzones) C with regard to viticulture:
A: Belgium, Denmark, most of Germany (except Baden), England, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, Czech Republic (Cechy=Bohemia)
B: Germany (Baden only), North/East France (Champagne, Alsace, Jura, Loire, Lorraine, Savoy), Austria, Slovakia (except Tokay), North Slovenia (Podravje, Posavje), Romania (Podisul Transilvaniei), Czech Republic (Morava=Moravia)
C Ia: South/West France (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Provence, Rhône, Sud-Ouest), North Spain (Asturia, Cantabria, Coruna, Guipuzcoa, Viscaya), North Portugal, Romania (rest), Romania (rest), Slovakia (Tokay only)
C Ib: small part of northern Italy (Valle d'Aosta, South Tyrol), Hungary
C II: Bulgaria (Dunawska, Rawnina, Chernomorski rayon, Rosova Dolina), Southern France (Languedoc-Roussillon), Central and Northern Italy (Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, F-J-V, Liguria, Lombardy except Sondrio, Marche, Campania, Molise, Piedmont, Tuscany, Umbria, Veneto except Belluno, Southern Romania, Spain (z. Penedés, Rioja), coastal area of Slovenia (Primorska)
C IIIa: Bulgaria (rest), Greece (cooler parts) with Crete, Cyprus (over 600 m)
C IIIb: France (Corsica, Pyrénées-Orientales), main part Greece, South Italy (Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sardinia, Sicily, other islands), South Spain (rest), South Portugal (rest), Malta, Cyprus (up to 600 m)
All wine-growing areas in Austria belong to wine-growing zone B and in Germany, with the exception of the Baden wine-growing area (wine-growing zone B), all belong to wine-growing zone A. The minimum values for alcohol content and must weight and various winemaking practices such as enrichment, deacidification and acidification are laid down differently for each wine-growing zone. Consideration should be given to reducing them to three zones: north, centre, south and gradually increasing the minimum requirements in north. In California there is a subdivision into five climate zones based on special analyses.
Due to the fact that climate change is a fact that can hardly be disputed any more, there may have to be changes in the division of the wine-growing zones. In this context, Cool Climate Winegrowing has become popular since the mid-1990s, which refers to the planting of vines in higher areas with continental climatic conditions. See also under northernmost vineyard, southernmost vineyard and highest vineyard.
