In viticulture, there are several levels of regional climates that are used to describe the terroir or immutable characteristics of an area. These levels can be as broad as a macroclimate which includes entire wine regions or as small as a microclimate which includes the unique environment around an individual grapevine. In the middle is the mesoclimate which usually describes the characteristics of a particular vineyard site.

Levels

• Macroclimate, in viticulture, refers to the regional climate of a broad area such as an American Viticultural Area (AVA) or a French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC). It can include an area on the scale of tens to hundreds of kilometers. On smaller scales are the related designations of mesoclimate and microclimate.^[1]
• Mesoclimate refers to the climate of a particular vineyard site and is generally restricted to a space of tens or hundreds of meters.^[1]
• Microclimate refers to the specific environment in a small restricted spaces-such as a row of vines. The more delineated term canopy microclimate refers to the environment around an individual grapevine.^[1] although many viticulturists use the term "microclimate" when talking about an individual vine and the effects of canopy management. ^[2]