Moroccan Wines

Meet the new-old wine country.

Italy, France, Spain: When it comes to wine, the land north of the Mediterranean Sea receives boundless acclaim.

But wine grapes have a much stronger role on the south side of the Mediterranean than one might suspect. As proof, we've built an interactive map of Morocco's winegrowing regions, complete with bottles recommended by some of the United States' best sommeliers and chefs.

With the cooling influence of the ocean and the altitude of the coastal Atlas Mountains, Morocco's climate and geography are undeniably friendly to wine grapes.

But this is old news to those in the know. Wine has been produced in Morocco since the era of the Phoenicians nearly 4,000 years ago, though the current wave of winemaking emerged only recently, in the 1990s. French winemaking stars such as Thalvin's Jacques Poulain are increasingly setting their sights on Morocco, exploring the uniqueness of its terrain and bottling wines that are increasingly muscling their way onto domestic wine lists by virtue of their quality rather than their novelty.

It's time to travel in a new Mediterranean direction.