The Old World and New World Approach to Wine

Old World Wine

For the indigenous wine-growing cultures of Europe, wine was originally created as a way to preserve fruit from grapes until the next fall harvest. The fact that grapes were the only fruit with enough natural sugar to ferment into wine made them special enough to plant wherever climate and soil would allow them to thrive.

In the ancient Mediterranean cultures before the science of fermentation was understood, the transformation from grape juice to wine was mystical and holy, and wine soon found its way into the religious services of nearly all religions of antiquity where it remains to this day. Wine is still used in Jewish ceremonies and is the "blood of Christ" in Christian communion services and Catholic masses. The "holiness" of wine is not lost on Europeans where it takes on multiple roles at the family table.

In the southern European and Mediterranean dinner table, wine provided not only the fruit but the acidity needed to balance the starchy and fatty diets of the populace. A glass of Riesling, for example, would perk up the heaviness of pork and sausages. A glass of Chianti brought needed fruit and acidity to the starchy game and olive oils of Tuscany. European wine is made for the dinner table.

Wine was used in the middle ages and beyond not only as a beverage but as a cure for diseases. Scurvy, non potable water and stomach ailments were among many health-related uses for wine wine. Modern research has disclosed cardiovascular benefits and cancer-preventative properties to wine. The so-called "French Paradox" is that French people who eat rich dairy and fatty foods thought to cause cardiovascular illness actually have less of such illness than Americans. Drinking red wine was thought to be part of the reason why.

Wines from the Old World have traditionally been identified by their place of origin. In wine-growing Europe, centuries of evolution have resulted in determining which varieties of grapes are best adapted for the unique soil and climate of a particular region. Appellation laws in France, Spain, Italy and Germany have strict requirements that protect the character of the wines of each region and there are government tasting panels that actually monitor each winery's stylistic compliance.

For the wine consumer, a typical European wine is identified by the name of its place on a label. Chianti, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Chablis, Vouvray, Bordeaux and Champagne are all names of regions whose grape variety makeup is determined by law. That way a wine buyer buying a Barolo, for example, is guaranteed that his wine will be made of Nebbiolo and it will have a taste unique to that region.

New World Wine

In countries where grape growing isn't universal and grain beverages like beer and spirits dominate, the wine has a different historical and cultural place in society. The way the population drinks wine differs also from the Europeans.

New World wines are dominated by varietal bottling, listing the grape variety on the label. The purpose of the New World vintner is to achieve full expression of varietal character, not the full expression of his region. The place, which is important in terms of soil and climate, takes a back seat to the variety. Whether the Cabernet Sauvignon comes from Australia, Argentina or Napa Valley, the vintner wants to make Cabernet. The Bordelaise, who also use Cabernet Sauvignon, want to make Pauillac or St. Julien or Margaux.

Because New World winemaking is relatively modern, there is little tradition of wine at the tables of the indigenous population. Working-class Americans, for example, weren't raised with a bottle of inexpensive, unoaked table wine on the table. For people discovering wine on their own then, understanding and learning about the taste of different varietals such as Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot is the first step to wine appreciation.

In practical terms, non-wine drinking cultures produce wine enthusiasts who learn about wine by exposing themselves to elite wines rather than indigenous wines. It is a top-down process that is about the wine itself rather than wine as merely one of many components to a dinner menu. As a result, wines are made—and judged—as they perform in a stand-alone situation. The more concentrated, dense, flavorful, fruit-forward, the more impressive the wine.

These New World styles of wines have become so popular they dominate wine sales in America and increasingly in much of the world. Modern wine criticism encourages vintners who experiment to make bigger and more alcoholic wines that make a great first impression. Suitability with food is of secondary, or no consideration.

The Main Distinction Between Old World and New World Wines

Understanding that wine is fermented fruit juice may be the most important contrast between the Old and New World approaches to wine. Where the Old World traditionally uses wine as a food, it must possess the proper flavor, pitch, weight, balance and acidity for the items it is accompanying on the plate.

New World wines, whose aggressive alcohol and liberal use of oak flavor are so desirable in a stand-alone beverage, usually fails as a food wine for the same reasons. They simply taste out-of-whack, often diminishing in size when confronted with competing flavors. A simple, fruity, balanced wine in the European mold is much more versatile on the table. It is the role of wine as fruit, that Old World wines are so much more useful on the table than flavored booze.