Wine 101: Old World vs. New World

When talking about wine, sometimes folks like to throw around fancy terms without taking the time to define what they mean. Part of understanding more about the field of wine is understanding what these terms mean, so let’s learn the difference between “Old World” and “New World” wine.

What’s the difference?

When people say, “I prefer Old World wine”, what does that actually mean? Primarily, the difference between the Old and New Worlds is geographic:

Old World wines come from Europe and the Caucausus region where winemaking is thought to have originated (Georgia, Turkey, Armenia). New World wines come from everywhere else.

That’s it! Really. Let’s dig a little deeper though.

Old World labels and regulations

One of the most apparent differences between Old and New World wines is the difference in how producers label their bottles. For folks who are just getting into wine, it can be incredibly confusing to learn that the Italian Chianti they love to drink is not named based on the grape, while the California Cabernet Sauvignon is.

Old World producers, with the exception of a few edge cases, label their bottles by the region or sub-region where the wine is produced. We’ve touched on this a bit in this newsletter when talking about the Loire Valley and Chianti Classico. Wines that you buy from France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal will be labeled by their region. Exceptions to this rule in the Old World are Germany and Austria, where they do label it by the grape. (I don’t know why yet, but this is a good future topic!)

Why do these countries label by region? Old World countries have very strict rules and regulations in place, largely to preserve the winemaking traditions of those regions as well as to set quality standards.

If your wine:

• Doesn’t contain a certain percentage of the allowed grapes of the region

• Doesn’t meet certain quality standards chemically

• Isn’t made according to the winemaking traditions and practices of the regions

You likely can’t put that region on the label. It’s basically a way to designate wines that have been evaluated and certified by the governing wine body of the region.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Old World wines are of higher quality than New World. Some winemakers in countries like France and Italy feel constrained by these rules because, in a certain sense, they inhibit their ability to play. In fact, a number of winemakers in these countries also have vineyards in places like Argentina or California where they aren’t beholden to strict regional rules.

New World: The Wild West, Almost

By contrast, New World wine regions have far fewer rules and regulations about what you can and can’t put into the bottle, and how you can make it. That’s not to say that there are no rules. In Oregon, for example, in order to put Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Pinot Gris on the bottle label, the wine needs to be made up of 90% of that particular grape. In California, the wine needs 75% of that particular grape. And in Washington State, in order to put the AVA (American Viticultural Area - the region in the US where that wine comes from) on the label, 95% of the grapes must be from that region.

Much of the winemaking practice in the New World has historically been to emulate the winemaking that happens in the Old World, and particularly France. However, many New World countries are developing their own unique styles and traditions, many of which “break the rules” of the Old World.

So which is better?

Neither! Both “Worlds” produce great and terrible wine alike. To me, it’s equally fascinating to drink a French wine that has been built on hundreds of years of tradition and practice as it is to drink a wine made right here in Pennsylvania, where the soil and climate aren’t perfect but they’re going for it anyway.

Some folks have claimed that Old World wines are lighter bodied and have more acidity, but acidity in wine is a result of the climate and doesn’t really hold up - you’ll find high-acidity wines in both France and Canada, and low-acidity wines in both the south of Italy and Australia.

Resources

This article by Wine Folly, one of my favorite sources for introductory wine material, goes into more depth. Jancis Robinson, the Queen of Wine, also has a fantastic article on the differences between the Old and New and the way that dichotomy is breaking down.

What I’m drinking this week

Yesterday we cracked open Château de Merande La Belle Romaine 2017, a beautiful and interesting red from Savoie, France. It was very earthy - lots of mushroom, soil, and leather notes, as well as cherry. The cherry notes were muted at first but started coming out beautifully after sitting a bit.

This Bierzo from Descendientes de J. Palacios was also quite good. It’s definitely a big bold wine. I let it decant for a couple of hours before drinking. Big bold dark fruit notes like blackberry jam, allspice, and vanilla, all for around $20!