The Dürkheim Wurstmarkt – literally sausage market – is the world's largest wine festival. Here, wine growers certainly don't skimp on size: Instead of dainty-stemmed wine glasses with just a few inches of red or white, Oktoberfest-inspired servings rule. One of the around 700,000 visitors every year in September, the German Chancellor seems to be having a good time.

Every year, the various wine-growing regions in Germany elect young women as their new Wine Queens. Until 1999, the queen-to-be had to be unmarried, a rule that has since been nixed. On average, today's wine queens are 25 years old, and candidates must prove they have a "clear and strong association with German wines."

The Calmont slope on Germany's Moselle River, right by the small town of Bremm, is 300 meters high and, with a gradient of up to 60 percent, it's not for the faint-hearted, or people who suffer from vertigo. Actually, the Calmont is Europe's steepest vineyard.

From 1945 to 2006, Baron Philippe de Rothschild commissioned a different artist every year to design labels for his wines. Collectors are keen on bottles with labels by the likes of Picasso, Kandinsky, Warhol and Chagall. In 2006, the above 1945 Mouton Rothschild was sold at an auction for $28,750 (€24,500).

Leaving grapes on the wine long after harvest until the first big freeze is a challenge and a risk for every wine grower. The frozen grapes are picked in cold winter nights and pressed immediately, making for a thicker, sweeter and more aromatic wine with a delicate acidity. Popular dessert wines, German ice wines are renowned worldwide.

The 52nd parallel is regarded as German winegrowers' "Arctic Circle." The German town of Werder is situated in what is officially the world's northernmost wine-growing region. That hasn't kept a wine grower in Finland from taking a gamble: Warm water from a nuclear power plant's coolant system runs through pipes underneath his small local vineyard, keeping the ground frost-free.

White wine of course – or is it a red wine after all, despite appearances? If it is, it's called a "Blanc de Noir," white wine from a red grape. Remove the skin of the red grape, and you get light-colored juice and pulp. Modeled after French champagne that is often won from Pinot Noir grapes, this wine is low in acidity and quite agreeable.

Germany's southwest is the country's most sun-drenched region. The Baden region is perfect for growing both Riesling and Pinot Noir grapes. At 560 meters, the Hohentwieler Olgaberg may be Germany's highest wine growing region – but a vineyard in Argentine province of Salta easily tops that, with grapes harvested as high up as 3,111 meters of altitude.

By around 1850, grape phylloxera, a pest that originated in North America, had arrived in Europe, spreading throughout wine-growing regions everywhere and destroying harvests for decades. The only solution was crossing the more delicate European grapes with American strains resistant to the blight. Et voilà! It was the salvation of European wines, to this very day.

Some 2,000 years ago, ancient Romans began cultivating vines on the steep slopes along the River Mosel - making this Germany's oldest wine region. Over 100 wine-producing villages, like Cochem (pictured here), make this an enticing region to visit. Premium vintages from this region, predominantly Riesling, Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner varieties, score very high prices at auctions.

The 18-meter high Wine Gate marks the beginning of the German Wine Route, an itinerary established 80 years ago that leads through the Palatinate region. Here you'll find the biggest Riesling region in the world. The "King of German wines" enjoys a good reputation the world over. For instance, when the Suez Canal was officially opened in 1869, it was toasted with glasses of Palatinate Riesling.

The famous wine region bears the same name as the western French city of Bordeaux. The Atlantic climate and soil enriched with calcium due to lime stone provide fantastic conditions to cultivate the grapes of the renowned dry red wine. Here a sculpture of France's emblem, a cockerel, proudly watches over the vineyards of Château La France.

France's Burgundy region is known for some outstanding wines - both red and white. It also hosts an annual charity wine auction every November, when the world of wine congregates in the Hospices de Beaune. Premier and Grand Cru wines from the region have repeatedly set record prices, with a barrel of "Corton-Bressandes Grand Cru" being sold for 220,000 euro ($242,653) in 2014.

Italy is the biggest wine producer in the world, and Tuscany is at the heart of its production. The hilly landscape with its mild climate provides ideal conditions for great wines: Chianti Classico, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Brunello di Montalcino. These are all made with the Sangiovese grape, which can only be found in Italy.

Small, sweet grapes grow on the slopes of the Douro Valley and produce the concentrated and long-lasting flavors of Port, a fortified dessert wine. Once made, it's taken in oak barrels to the port city of Porto, where it is stored for at least two years. The Douro river valley became the world's first protected wine region and was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001.

The Bodega Ysios winery is an interesting showcase for Spain's Rioja region. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, this long cedar building with a wavy roof of gigantic bars of aluminum is inspired by the shape giant wine barrels. Back in the 19th century, wine makers of the region began fermenting grapes in "barricas," oak barrels, which also gave the wine its distinctive flavor.

The Hungarian town of Tokaj also gives its name to the noble wine that is produced here from white wine grapes. Regional wine production rules specify that it has to ferment in a barrel for 10 years and then for another five years in a bottle. Typical for the region is the labyrinthine subterranean tunnel system, providing the best environment for Tokaj wines to develop their flavors.

It's no wonder that Dionysus, the god of winemaking and wine, was Greek. As far back as the 16th century BC, ancient Greeks were already making wine. It was stored in amphorae which were sealed with Aleppo pine resin, known locally as Retsina. This added a special flavor to the wine. Today, small pieces of pine resin are still used in wine fermentation in order to produce the typical Retsina wine.