Summary 61
A neighborhood wine store in
Paris, France—evidence of the
significance in the French
terroir concept.tasting panel members would be French judges.
During the tasting, the judges consistently mistook
French wines for California, and California wines
for French. In the end, the French judges selected
a Napa Valley Cabernet as the top red and a Napa
Valley Chardonnay as the best white. This event
was a defining moment for California wines, with
the best of California beating France’s best. This
also brings into question the validity of the sepa-
ration between Old World and New World styles
in wine.
Over the past few years, traveling winemakers
and roving viticulturists have blurred the traditional
lines between the Old and New World wine indus-
tries. The industry is seeing more and more joint
ventures between the New World and Old. Joint
wine production ventures in California, Chile, Aus-
tralia, and elsewhere point to a continued sharing
of wine industry know-how. Cross-fertilization of
viticulture ideas and winemaking technology have
facilitated this process. Many of the Old World
winemakers are working ‘‘out of the box,’’ using
nontraditional varietals, viticulture methods, and labeling techniques.
Another reason for the blurring of boundaries is the development of a greater number
of cool-climate regions within the New World. These locations are likely to deliver quality
wines with more finesse and European style. Also, Old World producers continue to embrace
and utilize New World technology. New World winemakers are creating new traditions
incorporating the ideas of terroir and appellations to the industry. Where are we headed in
the future? More blurred lines? Or reestablishment of unique regional characteristics as an
area of competitive differentiation?
SUMMARY
Aregion’s gastronomic identity is determined by the
environment and cultural elements that impact prevailing
components, textures, and flavors in wine and food. The
dominant elements in the environment determining wine
characteristics include geography and climate. Cool, mod-
erate, and warm climate zones can have a substantial im-
pact of fruit ripeness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, and flavors.
All of these elements have an impact of on food pairing
decisions. Macro-, meso-, and microclimates also impact
final wine characteristics. Climate and geography influ-
ence the type of grapes that can be grown and whether a
region will be able to profitably adapt wine grapes to the
region.
Cultural elements include religion, history, level of
ethnic diversity, innovations, capabilities, traditions, be-
liefs, and values. These events have a significant impact
on identifiable characteristics through the introduction of
new winemaking technologies, viticulture practices, and
the development of a quality wine-growing region. Pro-
hibition had a substantial impact on the wine industry
throughout North America. Appellations have a long tra-
dition in France and other parts of the Old World. The
use of appellations in the New World is increasing in im-
portance and has important consequences related to mi-
croclimates and terroir.
Old World and New World wine regions have dif-
fering histories, traditions, and geography. But the bound-
aries between the two are becoming blurred with the
sharing of new technologies and viticulture practices. Old
World traditions are being adopted as New World pro-
ducers take a closer look at the relationship between land
and grape. Just like all cuisine, the wine industry is in
constant evolution thanks to the constantly changing in-
teraction of unique and identifiable products, traditions,
and etiquette. The ‘‘New World’’ concept of the near fu-
ture may end up referring to new frontiers in international
winemaking rather than a dichotomy based on geographic
and traditional boundaries.