uncorked
Only in dusty history books or in the sleepy wine world is the globe divided into 'old world' and 'new world' segments. Old world wine denotes European production whereas new world varieties are from non-European upstarts such as Chile, Australia and the United States.
It is increasingly fashionable to use these terms to describe a wine's style. Old world style has come to mean classic and restrained, whereas new world style signifies modern, experimental and bold. It is not unusual to find the label of an Australian wine proudly proclaiming it is old world style, or conversely an Italian wine being praised by a wine reviewer as having new world character.
Climate permitting, most European countries have a long history of wine production - though not all of it reliable. In a fledgling attempt at intellectual property protection, the finest wine regions in Europe developed an intricate system of quality control and regulation. This system is at its most sophisticated in France, where the words Appellation Controlee (AC) on the label require producers to follow a strict grape-growing and winemaking protocol. The AC system dictates which grape varieties can be grown, grape yields per hectare, harvest dates and production techniques.
In the old world, most wines are not known by their grape composition, but by their place of origin. Over the decades - or centuries in some cases - wine regions such as Italy's Barolo, Spain's Rioja and France's Champagne developed distinctive wine styles unique to their region. The key benefit of the AC system is it affirms the pedigree of a particular wine.
A quality French wine will always have the words Appellation Controlee on the label beneath its region of origin. Most of the old world has adopted similar delimitations, with Italian labels sporting the words Denominazione di Origine Controllata underneath its stated district, while in Spain it is Denominacion de Origen.
As new world wine-producing regions began to gain international respect, they enthusiastically jumped on the AC bandwagon by officially delineating their own wine producing regions, such as California's Napa Valley or Australia's Margaret River. Appellation regulations vary by country, but most state 85 per cent of the grapes must be from the region designated on the label.
