Old World and New World Wines

The Division Between Old World and New World Wines

Instructions For some time now the generally accepted terms for the wine producing nations has been divided into two broad categories: the old world and the new world. The old world is European centric. It includes such countries, as France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Greece, etc. The new world is just about all other wine producing countries. It includes, Canada, China, USA, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, etc. While the division between the old world and the new world is in terms of source of production, it also speaks to, in a general sense, the regulations that govern the production of wine, and the typical wine styles of the two designations. It is also arguably an arbitrary designation; wines have been produced in South Africa (new world), for a very long time; indeed, centuries. This of course highlights some of the challenges with large generalizations. The designation of old world and new world in the world of wine is beginning to change. Nevertheless, I do suggest that it has a role in evaluating the level of experience, the degree of knowledge, the prevalence of a culture of wine, and the acceptance of wine and wine tourists in various countries and communities. Wine, and its appreciation, is enjoyed by definable segments in society, and in varying degrees. Consequently, the remaining sections in this activity examines some of these variations. To emphasis this point, please read the following excerpt from the Movement for Oenological Tourism (Corigliano, 1996; Movimento del Tourismo del Vino, 1997, as cited in Bitsani, E., & Kavoura, A. (2012). Connecting oenological and gastronomical tourisms at the wine roads, veneto, italy, for the promotion and development of agrotourism. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 18(4), 301-312. doi:10.1177/13567667124607380, According to this research done in Italy (an old-world wine country), there are four types of such visitors as described below. ‘The Professional’, is a person who is between 30 and 45 years old, has knowledge of wine, may discuss with the wine producer and is in a position to fully evaluate the positive and the negative elements of a wine variety. The professional is mainly interested in new things and is willing to devote time and energy towards such direction. ‘The impassioned neophyte’, is a person who is 25–30 years old, has high income and likes wine. The impassioned neophyte understands wine as a way to meet new people, enjoy food and explore nature. In general, this type of visitor travels with friends, some of whom belong to the category of the professional, and always has a wine guide. They are willing to learn, although less aware of wine varieties and wine than the professional. ‘The hanger-on’, is a person who is 40–50 years old and has high income; they are interested in wine because their knowledge in relation to the subject is a sign of showing off. They are satisfied with their basic knowledge of wine and they are more influenced by the others’ comments than those who belong in the previous two categories. They get more enthusiastic about the famous brands than the packages. They sometimes seek a price discount on the wine products they buy. ‘The drinker’, is a person who is between 50 and 60 years old, and mainly visits the wineries as a member of a group on Sundays, as an alternative to a bar. They consume wine in the winery and ask for more; they wish to buy wine without its package, having a big container on the back of their truck (Hall et al., 2000). Research has shown that a significant predictor of repurchase intention at wineries is the free offer and the tasting of varieties of wine (Nowak and Newton, 2006). It is within the above-mentioned classifications that we base the classification for gastro- oenological visitors, based on the fact that there is no official categorisation in gastro-enology. Next watch the following two videos depicting wine in “old world”’ wine countries. ITALIAN WINE - TASTE THE PASSION (01:31) France: Wine and tourism (01:16) Once you have read the above passage and watched the videos, post your thoughts on the following question. Your response should not exceed 500 words. I will provide feedback on your response; strong, satisfactory, weak; pass or fail. What are some implications from the wine videos for wine tourism in the old world?