Old World wine
Encyclopedia
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
refers primarily to wine made in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
but can also include other regions of the Mediterranean basin
Mediterranean Basin
In biogeography, the Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around the Mediterranean Sea that have a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, which supports characteristic Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub vegetation...
with long histories of winemaking
History of wine
The history of wine spans thousands of years and is closely intertwined with the history of agriculture, cuisine, civilization and humanity itself...
such as North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
. The phrase is often used in contrast to "New World wine
New World wine
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.-Early wines in the Americas:...
" which refers primarily to wines from New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
wine regions such as the United States, Australia, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and South Africa. The term "Old World wine" does not refer to a homogeneous style with "Old World wine regions" like Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
and Spain each making vastly different styles of wine even within their own borders. Rather, the term is used to describe general differences in viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
and winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
philosophies between the Old World regions where tradition and the role of terroir
Terroir
Terroir comes from the word terre "land". It was originally a French term in wine, coffee and tea used to denote the special characteristics that the geography, geology and climate of a certain place bestowed upon particular varieties...
lead versus the New World where science and the role of the winemaker are more often emphasized. In recent times, the globalization of wine
Globalization of wine
"Globalization is the expansion of brands across nations and into other continents. In food and wine it refers to the whole problem of making the product global. The primary issue is scaling production while reducing the costs of goods with processes. In marketing it refers to wearing the mantle of...
and advent of flying winemakers have lessened the distinction between the two terms with winemakers in one region being able to produce wines that can display the traits of the other region—i.e. an "Old World style" wine being produced in a New World wine region like California or Chile and vice versa.
Influences
Tradition
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society, still maintained in the present, with origins in the past. Common examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes , but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as greetings...
and terroir. The former refers to the long history of a wine region, while the latter refers to geography and the unique characteristics of a place. The centuries-old histories of many Old World wine regions have given the regions time to develop and adapt techniques that presumably best suit a particular vine growing area. These can include which grape varieties to plant, trellising methods, maximum permitted yield
Yield (wine)
In viticulture, the yield is a measure of the amount of grapes or wine that is produced per unit surface of vineyard, and is therefore a type of crop yield...
s, as well as winemaking techniques. Over time, these traditional practices became enshrined in local regulations such as the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée
Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée
Appellation d’origine contrôlée , which translates as "controlled designation of origin", is the French certification granted to certain French geographical indications for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products, all under the auspices of the government bureau Institut National...
(AOC), Italian Denominazione di origine controllata
Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Denominazione di origine controllata is a quality assurance label for food products, especially wines and various formaggi . It is modelled after the French AOC...
(DOC), Spanish Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen
Denominación de Origen is part of a regulatory classification system primarily for Spanish wines but also for other foodstuffs like honey, meats and condiments. In wines it parallels the hierarchical system of France and Italy although Rioja and Sherry preceded the full system...
(DO) and Portuguese Denominação de Origem Controlada
Denominação de Origem Controlada
The Denominação de Origem Controlada is the system of protected designation of origin for wines, cheeses, butters, and other agricultural products from Portugal.-Wines:...
(DOC) laws.
Terroir is often used to describe the aspects of a wine region such as soil, climate and topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
that are often out of the winemaker's control. They are the unique attributes that, theoretically, make a Sangiovese
Sangiovese
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
based wine from Chianti
Chianti
Chianti is a red Italian wine produced in Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ; however, the fiasco is only used by a few makers of the wine now; most Chianti is now bottled in more standard shaped wine bottles...
taste different from a Sangiovese based wine made anywhere else in the world even if exactly the same winemaking techniques are used. While wine in the New World are often labeled based on the varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
(such as Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
or Tempranillo
Tempranillo
Tempranillo is a variety of black grape widely grown to make full-bodied red wines in its native Spain. It is the main grape used in Rioja, and is often referred to as Spain's "noble grape". Its name is the diminutive of the Spanish temprano , a reference to the fact that it ripens several weeks...
), wines in the Old World are generally labeled based on the region or place that they come from (such as Montrachet
Montrachet
Montrachet is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée and Grand Cru vineyard for white wine from Chardonnay in the Côte de Beaune subregion of Burgundy. It is situated across the border between the two communes of Chassagne-Montrachet and Puligny-Montrachet and produces what many consider to be the...
or Ribera del Duero
Ribera del Duero
Ribera del Duero is a Spanish Denominación de Origen located in the country's northern plateau and is one of eleven 'quality wine' regions within the autonomous community of Castile and León...
). This is because Old World winemakers believe that the unique terroir-driven characteristics of where a wine comes from plays a more distinct role in shaping the resulting wine than the grape variety itself.
Viticulture
Viticulture in most of the Old World wine regions dates back to several hundred or even thousands of years with the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans establishing some of the earliest vineyards. Over centuries, these Old World wine regions have developed viticultural techniques and practices adapted around their unique climates and landscapes. Many of these practices are enshrined in local wine lawWine law
Wine laws are legislation regulating various aspects of production and sales of wine. The purpose of wine laws includes combating wine fraud, by means of regulated protected designations of origin, labelling practices and classification of wine, as well as regulating allowed additives and...
s and regulations such as the French Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) regulations. One distinction between an Old World vineyard and a New World vineyard is generally the high vine density and close proximately of plantings in the Old World, which were often planted years before the use of mechanical agriculture became popular. In regions such as Bordeaux, vines were often planted 1 metres (3 ft) apart in rows that were also separated by 1 metres (3 ft) with spacing that was sufficient for pruning
Pruning
Pruning is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping , improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for...
and harvesting being done manually. In New World wine regions like Australia, which was quick to adopt mechanical techniques, vines were often planted apart 3.7 metres (12 ft) by 2.5 metres (8 ft). While spacing between vine rows has shrunk in many Old World wine regions began adopting mechanical techniques in the late 20th century, some regions are still characterized by the high density of vines in their vineyards.
Winemaking
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
from the Mosel will often try to highlight the unique traits of the Mosel wine region (such as its slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
soils) with the wine expressing those traits in the form of minerality. In the New World, emphasis is often placed on the winemaker and the techniques used to bring out the fruit flavors of a wine (a style known as "fruit driven"). New World winemakers tend to be more open to experimenting with new scientific advances (such as the use of enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
s as an additive) while the terroir influence of Old World winemakers will often attempt to downplay the role of the winemaker and avoid techniques that may mask or distort the expression of terroir. Old World winemakers tend to be more open to use of wild, ambient yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
s during the fermentation
Fermentation (wine)
The process of fermentation in wine turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation, yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide...
process as a part of the terroir while New World winemakers tend to favor cultured yeast strains.
Other techniques associated with Old World winemakers include higher fermentation temperatures and a period of extended maceration
Maceration (wine)
Maceration is the winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— tannins, coloring agents and flavor compounds— are leached from the grape skins, seeds and stems into the must. Maceration is the process by which the red wine receives its red color, since 99% of all grape juice is...
following fermentation where the wine can leech more phenolic compounds from the grape skins. This can create more tannic and austere wines with more layers of complexity that require longer periods of bottle aging in order to mature. In contrast, the technique of transferring the must into oak barrels during fermentation and inducing malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation
Malolactic fermentation is a process in winemaking where tart-tasting malic acid, naturally present in grape must, is converted to softer-tasting lactic acid. Malolactic fermentation tends to create a rounder, fuller mouthfeel. It has been said that malic acid tastes of green apples...
early is more commonly associated with New World wine regions and wines that are softer and mature earlier.
Regions
European wine regions with a long history of viticulture are typically classified as "Old World". These include:- Armenia
- Austria
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Cyprus
- England
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Italy
- Moldova
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Turkey