Wine is often divided into ones made in the “Old World” versus ones made in the “New World” but what does that mean? They are segregated along geographic lines. Old World wines are categorized as being made in Europe and the Middle East. New World wines are made anywhere else e.g. Australia, the Americas, Southern Africa, Asia, etc. The Old World relies mainly on traditional wine grape varieties (Vitis vinifera), time-honored wine-making methods, and labeling that emphasizes the location where the wine was made and, prioritizes a wine’s terroir. Old World wine regions tend to have cooler climates that yield wines with restrained tannins and are not as fruitful with less sugar. The lower sugar levels contribute to their lower alcohol content (ABV). 

New World wines also use traditional grape varieties but are heavily invested in non-traditional grape varieties and readily embrace modern wine-making techniques, ideas, and technology. Its wine bottles are labeled identifying the grape variety used to make the wine. The climates of New World wine regions tend to be warmer and that variable favors the production of wine with fuller fruit flavors, rounder tannins, and higher alcohol content. Lastly, New World wines display more oak which is achieved by using newer barrels that extract greater fruit flavors and tannins. 

It doesn’t matter whether a wine is an “Old World” or “New World” offering, the only thing that matters is that you enjoy drinking it. Snap a pic of the label just in case you can’t remember what to buy the next time you are wine shopping.