The convection layer completes the transport of energy from the nuclear furnace at the center of the sun to its radiation into space by the photosphere, but most importantly for the solar wind it sets the temporal and spatial scales for the structure of the coronal magnetic field that in turn controls the properties of the solar wind. In this tutorial review we examine the properties of the fields and particles that constitute the solar wind and ultimately affect space weather and the underlying physical processes. In particular we discuss the role of the coronal magnetic field; the effect of the rotation of the sun; and the properties of the principal solar wind disturbance at 1 Astronomical Unit, the interplanetary coronal mass ejection.