Algeria, along with its neighbors TUNISIA and MOROCCO, was once a significant wine producer. During the time it was a colony of France, Algeria produced good-quality wines. Because Algeria’s Muslim-dominated population drank little alcohol, most of its wine was exported to France, either in bottles or in BULK to be blended with French wine. Since Algeria’s independence in 1962, when most of the French left, wine quality has dropped, exports have dwindled, and production has diminished. The 900,000 acres of vineyard land has been reduced to less than 40,000 acres, and wine production has been reduced to less than 1 percent of the pre-1962 levels. The French established a VDQS system with twelve regions, which exists to some extent today. The current demarcated areas are Aïn Bessem-Bouria, Coteaux du Zaccar, Médéa, Monts du Tessalah, Coteaux de Tlemcen, Coteaux du Mascara, Oued-Imbert, Mostaganem, Mostaganem- Kenenda, and Haut-Dahra. Although these areas have a climate like that of southern Italy, this Moslem-dominated country has not shown the desire to move forward with modernizing its wine industry. The grape varieties grown in Algeria include ALICANTE BOUSCHET, CARIGNAN, CINSAUT, CLAIRETTE, GRENACHE, MOURVÈDRE, SYRAH, Ugni Blanc (TREBBIANO), and, occasionally, CABERNET SAUVIGNON.