List of wine-producing regions
In 2014, the five largest producers of wine in the world were, in order, Italy, Spain, and France. (see list of wine-producing countries for a complete rank).
The following is a list of the top wine-producing countries and their volume of wine production for the year 2014 in metric tonnes, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which is an agency of the United Nations; this is the latest information available from the FAO.
Wine in religious communities of the Middle East
Lebanon is among the oldest sites of wine production in the world. The Israelite prophet Hosea (780–725 BC) is said to have urged his followers to return to Yahweh so that "they will blossom as the vine, [and] their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon". The Phoenicians of its coastal strip were instrumental in spreading wine and viticulture throughout the Mediterranean in ancient times. Despite the many conflicts of the region, the country has an annual production of about 600,000 cases of wine. Recently the sector has been witnessing an unprecedented growth. The number of wineries went from 5 in 1998 to over 30 nowadays.