What do you know about New World wines and Old World wines? Did you even realise that these were wine categories?
The chances are, you’ve heard the terms New World and Old World when people talk about wines, no matter how elementary your wine knowledge is. But what does it actually mean? Should we care whether a wine is classed as New World or Old World and does it actually make any difference to what’s in the bottle?
Those are all important questions and we’ll answer them in this blog. The categories are clearly defined and, as one would expect, are based in geography.
New world wines, as you would expect, come from countries where wine production isn’t quite as engrained in the history as it would be in a Mediterranean nation, for example.
These wines are now so popular and well-respected across the globe that you would be hard-pushed to find a wine drinker who does not appreciate one or two New World options.
But that wasn’t always the case. There was a time when wine connoisseurs derided New World wines as nothing more than also-rans.
Of course that was a preposterous view and now we all know that some of the finest reds and white wines come from New World producers. But who are they? Well, the big New World producers these days would have to be New Zealand, Australia, Chile, South Africa, Argentina and, to a lesser extent, the United States.
There can be no doubting the quality of many of the wines that come from these areas and many believe that the stronger emphasis on fruit to terroir – to generalise for a moment – actually make New World wines a more interesting proposition.
Another point to consider is that there are far less restrictions around how New World wine producers make their wine. Old World producers usually have more regulations around planting, pruning, harvesting and maximum yields.
The upshot of this is that New World wines have far less shackles around the craft of wine production than their Old World counterparts. Of course it would be too simplistic to say this is always the case.
However it is true that European producers consistently oppose the regulatory measures around their industry. They argue that whilst many of these were put in place to ensure minimum standards, modern practices have rendered these rules out of date and oppressive.
So who are the Old World wine producers? Traditionally, the most popular Old World wines were from Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Portugal, Italy and, of course, France.
These countries have been producing wine for thousands of years. It was only with exploration and colonisation of other parts of the world did we see their wine production practices filtering into what we call the New World today.
The reality of modern wine production means that we can enjoy a truly world class wine, whether it’s from Portugal, Argentina, France or New Zealand. So to question which is better from New World and Old World is a pointless exercise.
However, what is of some interest is how different the results are when comparing two wines from the same vintage using the same grape. Let’s forget about whether we think one is better than the other for a moment and just marvel at the contrasts in the results.
Take a Sauvignon Blanc. Invariably, the New World offering, for example a 2009 New Zealand wine, will be paler in cooler, fruity and zesty on the palate. It’s almost always all about the grape.
The Old World wine will be dramatically different though; it’ll be darker in colour, much more subtle and will usually offer a broader range of flavours and notes.
Same grape, same vintage, similar process but vastly different wine. Perhaps that’s one of the joys of wine.
We at Lockett Bros have a fine selection of both Old World and New World wines at our online story and at our North Berwick store. Treat yourself today.
