The grapes of what? World's five most surprising wine producing regions

(News) - BEING a wine-lover doesn't have to limit your travel options.

These days wine is being produced in some of the world's most unlikely places, thanks to a combination of innovation, economics and changes in global temperatures.

Here are five places you might not have considered for a wine-around-the-world itinerary:

DENMARK

Danish wine sounds like a bit of a joke. Cold winters, variable sunlight, often wet, brief summers - Denmark doesn't sound like a country with a climate to produce wine. But it does.

Global warming and the development of new grape varieties have helped Danish vintners for more than a decade. There are more than 80 vineyards in various locations from rural hamlets outside of Copenhagen to islands in the Baltic Sea. Varietals produced include the red grapes rondo, castel, regent and leon millot while solaris, sauvignon blanc, riesling, and silvaner make up the whites.

Danish wine has benefited from the momentum created by Noma chef Rene Redzepi's reinvention of Nordic cuisine.

Proof of this is the tiny North Sea island of Lilleo, home to a vineyard owned by Noma co-owner Claus Meyer. He produces a white wine blend titled Lilleo vin Arwen, a collaboration between Myer, Redzepi and chef/winemaker Anders Selmer (a former Redzepi protege). There's only one catch: to try a bottle it's likely you'll have to eat at Copenhagen's Michelin-starred restaurant as production is limited.