CORE WINE TERMS DITCHED

It’s out with the old and out with the new. The US arm of the Court of Master Sommeliers has decided that wine-producing countries will no longer be referred to as “Old World” or “New World” in materials, the body announced in its December newsletter. The decision was driven by its “commitment to uphold historical accuracy, eliminate cultural bias, and acknowledge the growing challenge of distinguishing between ‘Old World’ and ‘New World’ wines.” Referencing “evolving styles” in a “dynamic wine landscape” the organization revealed it will no longer feature the terminology in its published materials or examination assessments. The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has also done away with the terms, as of summer 2022.
Old World has traditionally been used to describe European winemaking countries, while New World has been used to refer to Southern Hemisphere nations such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Chile, as well as the US. The issue, for some, is that this belies the ancient winemaking roots of many of the latter, some of which go back thousands of years. Others in the trade understand New World wines to simply mean wines that are produced in countries where vines were transported from Europe (the old world of those vines) to a new destination (the new world or home of the exported vines). Still, for a number of producers, the continued use of the terms is problematic. Some are of the opinion that Old World implies quality for consumers and that New World can be seen to suggest imitation rather than creation. Other terms that have come up for debate recently are the of “Grand Cru” exclusively for French wines as well as the term “terroir”. But these terms have long been used to convey core tenets of winemaking. For example, the million-year-old distinctive soils of Burgundy are so specific to the region that there is no confusion as to the terroir of the wine. Of course, there has also been some movement in the industry to a more simplified “101” approach as several French winemakers have taken to adding varietal information to their labels to appeal to younger consumers who might otherwise be confused by the term “Burgundy” on their label.