The new world is getting old, while the old world is new
The new world is getting old, while the old world is new it seems.
In 2019, New Zealand, one of the darlings of the New World, will celebrate 200 years of making wine. Australia’s first wines were on sale in the 1820’s and South Africa's world-renowned Constantia Estate was planted 333 years ago. While in America the first vines were planted at Senecu in 1629, some 389 years ago, so to call these the 'new' wines is a bit old hat.
Newer countries to turn their hand to wine include Norway, England and China. These old world countries are the New new!
New World countries were named so because British colonists would head off into the “New world” to explore. Later, the name came to mean a new wave of fruit driven style of wine, made using modern wine making techniques. However much of the old world has copied these techniques, and the new world has developed old world techniques so the difference between the two no longer exists.
The new New are often wine regions that have benefited from climate change. Yes, England grew grapes in Roman times but this all disappeared when the Romans left. It wasn't until the 1970’s that vines where re-planted and only in the last 20 years an industry has grown up.
China’s long march to wine has as much to do with it’s international opening up, and the communist party's desire to switch alcohol production to less arable land. But this ancient country is definitely New when it comes to the wine scene.
