Old World versus New World

In reading Andrea Immer Robinson's wonderful book "Great Wine Made Simple", she has a chapter called "Old World, New World". As a wine person, this knowledge becomes second hand, but as she points out, most people just aren't aware of this obvious dichotomy. It's a lot like the dichotomy of developed versus emerging countries. Once you know it, you're always aware of it.

(If there is a huge vertical space between here and the following table, blame blogger, which inserts it. I've tried to get rid of it to no avail.)

Category	Old World	New World
Countries	Europe:France,Spain,Germany,Italy	US, Australia, NZ, Chile, Argentina
Style	Reserved, elegant	Bold, fruity
Acidity, Minerality	Higher	Lower
Alcohol, Oakiness	Lower	Higher
Whites	Tangy, tart apple, sour citrus	Riper, tropical, melon
Reds	Thinner, cherry, red berry, mineral, clean dirty, tobacco	Thicker, big fruit, plums, dark berry, prunes, vanilla
White Grapes	Riesling, Chardonnay, Savignon Blanc	Chardonnay, Savignon Blanc, Viognier
Red Grapes	Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauv/Merlot, Shiraz, Grenache	Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot
Enjoy with	Traditional food	Strong food (steak, chile) or by itself
Bad analogy	Classical music, wisdom	Pop music, rock and roll, energy
Climate	Cooler or has daily coolness	Hotter or consistently hot
Soil	Rocky, minerally, not fertile	Fertile, rich soils

The above table is a gross simplication, but you get the idea. A good fraction of the wines don't fit the above profiles, largely due to climate and winemaker style, but it is still a very useful distinction.

Most peoples tastes have distinct preferences. Most new wine drinks perfer the immediate likability (or accessibility as the trade calls it) of new world wines. They are fruity and tasty. And yet, it seems most serious wine people (critics, rich people who have their cellars written up in some wine magazine, wine makers whose wine costs mor than $50 a bottle) prefer the old world.

My personal preference:

Reds: new world

1. I like the big bold cabernets of the US and Australia and the big shiraz of Australia.



2. I've begun to appreciate the French and Italian wines, but they aren't my first choice. The Old World arrow through my New World armor is French Rhone style wines, which I have started to seek out. It helps alot that there are many delightful cheap Rhone wines with high availability (Perrin & Fils, Vieelle Ferme).
   



3. Pinot remains an ongoing education. I like the bigger Pinots from Calif. And it is hard to justify more than $20 for a Pinot that I'm not sure I'll appreciate.
   

Whites: a mixed bag, though I don't drink that many whites

1. Chardonnay: I like huge oaky, buttery, smokey Chardonnays, which most critics have come to detest. But given their continued supply, I'm not alone (Columbia Crest - widely available, Kali Hart, Logan).
2. Blends and roses - slight New World prefernence. Big roses, which are a bit of a contradiction, are nice. I've had nice blends of both styles. The Beringer Alluvium is particularly nice.
   
3. Sauvignon Blanc - I am very fond of the bracingly tart NZ Sauvignon Blancs which are un oaked and very tart, in the old world style. A few Sancerre from France have been excellent. Not that fond of Calif SB.
   
4. Malavasia - a rare treat, this tart, green apple, limey wine is so old school, but me, the missus and a good friend all love it.

No matter what your preferences, after reading this column, you can say "you've been schooled."