As I weave my way through the maze that is the wine world I often meet people who are lovers of EITHER “Old World” wine OR “New World” Wine. As I understand it there are two main distinctions between the “Old” & “New” world wine producing countries; history & style.
The first distinction is that “Old World” implies countries that have long traditions for wine production such as France, Italy, Germany & Spain. While “New World” locations, such as The US, Australia, New Zealand, South American countries (such as Chile & Argentina) and even Israel, have entered into the wine making fray within the last 20-50 years (or re-entered as the case is with Israel).
The other distinction between Old & New World, has to do with wine STYLE. Old world style wines tend to be less fruit forward, lower in alcohol, posses the capability for longer aging, and at times are not very approachable (read: drinkable) in their youth (as a result of overpowering tannins, high acidity, etc). While new world style wines are often fruit forward wines (grown in regions where the temperature/climate leads to ripe fruit), whose alcohol is higher (generally greater than 12-13%), ageability is questionable (if for no other reason than a lack of history to verify its age worthiness) yet are often more approachable in their youth.
SO, which is better???
