By the mid-18th century in France, grape growing supported 1.5 million families and an equal number in wine-related businesses. Eventually, it accounted for one-sixth of France’s total trading revenue, and was the country’s second-largest export.

Rather than resisting such government classifications and controls, producers often supported and even augmented them as a way of differentiating their products and raising entry barriers.
Later, other wine regions of France were given official recognition with the classification of Vins Delimités de Qualite Superieure (VDQS), but these were usually regarded as of lower rank than AOC wines. Below VDQS were Vins de Pays, or country wine -- inexpensive but very drinkable wines for French tables, and increasingly, for export. These categories were quite rigid with almost no movement across them. This was due to a belief that quality was linked to terroir, the almost mystical combination of soil, aspect, microclimate, rainfall, and cultivation that the French passionately believed gave the wine from each region— and indeed, each vineyard— its unique character.

pita annual consumption reached about 80 liters in Argentina and 50 liters in Chile in the 1960s. While such rates were well behind France and Italy, both of which boasted per capita consumption of 110–120 liters in this era, they were comparable with those of Spain.
First, suitable land was widely available and less expensive, allowing the growth of much more extensive vineyards. As a result, in 2006, the average vineyard holding in the United States was 213 hectares and in Australia 167 hectares, compared to an Italian average of 1.3 hectares, and 7.4 hectares in France.6

Drip irrigation in Australia
Irrigation was prohibited in France under AOC regulations
Innovation also extended into viniculture where New World producers pursued techniques such as night