Allgemein
22.02.2024
Wir haben zu diesem interessanten Thema einigen unseren Partnerwinzern aus Kalifornien, Frankreich und Österreich sieben spannende Fragen gestellt um ihre persönliche Sichtweise zu erfahren. In unserer Zusammenfassung findet ihr die wichtigsten Aussagen von Andi Kollwentz, Nik Krankl, César Perrin und Mark McWilliams in Deutsch. Nachstehend die ausführlichen von Mark Mc Williams in Englisch und natürlich gibt es auch die passende Weinselektion.
Mehr zu unserem Partnerweingut Arista findet ihr unter diesem Link
Historically the wine world has been divided in an ‚old world’ and a ‚new world‘. What do consider the main factors having led to this differentiation?
While there are likely many factors that have led to the distinctions of “Old World” and “New World” I think tradition has to be at the forefront. The Old World is a clear and easy way to reference European (Eastern, Western, Mediterranean) countries that have, for centuries, grown and produced wine. The New World became any place outside of Europe that produces wine. There was also an implied “style” or quality that went with both terms. Old World is a proxy for classic, traditional, rigid, wrote winemaking derived from generations of doing things a very specific way. It’s emerged from generations of trial and error and has much to envy for that. New World has become a proxy for modern, innovative, experimental, less bound by tradition or rigid regulations. New World wines, in many ways, have driven innovation in the wine world. Lacking the burden of tradition and curious to learn what works best, New World wines are less bound by history or precedent and thus able to push form and style more than old world wines.
Do you think this differentiation is still valid and why (not)?
I think the term is still useful but I think the implied connotations of Old World and New World are less meaningful. Science and Technology have closed the gap. While there are still broad, macro climate, weather, and governmental regulations that influence Old World and New World wines, climate change has narrowed the margin for Old World and New World wines. Modern consumers and global trends and preferences have, in many ways, begun to blur the traditional lines between styles of the Old World and New World. There are Old World wines that can have many characteristics of more modern, New World wines. And, there are New World wineries that, through technology and farming practices, are pushing to craft a style of wine that’s more reminiscent of Old World style. While terroir is very much real and very much relevant, it’s much easier today to manipulate wine style and profile to meet a particular price point or consumer demand than it was 30 or 50 years ago.
Do you think that consumer preferences in the ‚old world‘ and ‚new world’ are different and have influenced wine makers?
Yes, absolutely to both parts of this question. In general, sweeping terms there are differences in preference of style for consumers around the world. Historically, preferences arose because of familiarity and access to local or regional wines. Generally, food and flavor preferences all converged around what was locally available and thus emerged “style” of Old World wines and regions. Historically, wines were grown, produced, sold, and consumed much more locally and thus reflected and reinforced regional preferences. In the New World we’ve been much less bound by centuries of tradition and have generally been an amalgamation of culture and style. New World consumers tend to be less bound or influenced by tradition much more willing to accept different flavor profiles.
Being part of the old / new world, have you been influenced by trends / techniques / experiences / role models from the ‚other‘ side of the world?
Of course, we all have our influences that shape our philosophy and style. We love many of the traditional practices of Old World wineries. We visit Europe as often as possible to taste and learn from our fellow growers and winemakers. In many ways, our approach is heavily influenced by Old World, traditional techniques.
In the vineyard, we farm organically. We manage yields on a per vine and per acre basis and seek out very cool sites with old vines (30-50 year old vines) to encourage full flavor development at as low of sugar accumulation as possible to manage total alcohol by volume.
In the cellar we only use indigenous yeast for spontaneous ferments. We keep our cellars very cool year around to encourage protracted primary and secondary fermentations in our Chardonnay. We use only 2-3 coopers in our cellar and really use restraint in the application of new oak in aging. Rarely does any wines see more than 35% new oak. All of our wines are bottled without fining or filtration and are not cold stabilized. We work very hard on the perimeter to maintain very clean cellar conditions so that we don’t have to intervene during the fermentation and aging process. We’re not Luddites though! We fully embrace advanced technology in the cellar as a way to guide and inform decisions that are being made. We have very modern lab equipment and we outsource much of our lab work to highly advanced companies that can give us great insight into what’s happening microscopically in our wines. In that sense, we feel we are very true to our ethos of artisanal, quiet winemaking (Old World) while using as much technology as possible to understand and ensure precise winemaking protocols (New World).
How would you describe the style of your winery in the context of ‚old & new world‘?
Best of both worlds! We are a modern, New World winery without doubt. However, where we have found success and where our wines standout in the New World is that we very much apply the philosophies and traditions of the Old World in our daily approach. We are very, very traditional in how we grow and produce wine. I believe a winemaker from hundreds of years ago could walk through our cellar and be very comfortable with the traditional approach to our winemaking. At the same time, we have the luxury of modern technology to confirm what we believe is happening during fermentation and elevage. We can use this technology to plot and record each vineyard, each lot, and compare data year over year to get a better understanding the macro view of our sites and our wines.
How much of your wine production is going to ‚old world‘ vs. ‚new world‘ markets?
Less than 5% of our wine is currently exported to the “old world”. However, we see strong interest in many European countries for growth. I do believe that the world is much smaller and that younger people are much less tied to traditions. I believe there is more acceptance and acknowledgment of New World wines in the Old World. Where once it was very difficult to sell California wines into Europe we are seeing a shift in acceptance and appreciation by Europeans for New World wines. By far, Europe is our biggest international growth market.
Mehr zu unserem Partnerweingut Arista findet ihr unter diesem Link
Historically the wine world has been divided in an ‚old world’ and a ‚new world‘. What do consider the main factors having led to this differentiation?
While there are likely many factors that have led to the distinctions of “Old World” and “New World” I think tradition has to be at the forefront. The Old World is a clear and easy way to reference European (Eastern, Western, Mediterranean) countries that have, for centuries, grown and produced wine. The New World became any place outside of Europe that produces wine. There was also an implied “style” or quality that went with both terms. Old World is a proxy for classic, traditional, rigid, wrote winemaking derived from generations of doing things a very specific way. It’s emerged from generations of trial and error and has much to envy for that. New World has become a proxy for modern, innovative, experimental, less bound by tradition or rigid regulations. New World wines, in many ways, have driven innovation in the wine world. Lacking the burden of tradition and curious to learn what works best, New World wines are less bound by history or precedent and thus able to push form and style more than old world wines.
Do you think this differentiation is still valid and why (not)?
I think the term is still useful but I think the implied connotations of Old World and New World are less meaningful. Science and Technology have closed the gap. While there are still broad, macro climate, weather, and governmental regulations that influence Old World and New World wines, climate change has narrowed the margin for Old World and New World wines. Modern consumers and global trends and preferences have, in many ways, begun to blur the traditional lines between styles of the Old World and New World. There are Old World wines that can have many characteristics of more modern, New World wines. And, there are New World wineries that, through technology and farming practices, are pushing to craft a style of wine that’s more reminiscent of Old World style. While terroir is very much real and very much relevant, it’s much easier today to manipulate wine style and profile to meet a particular price point or consumer demand than it was 30 or 50 years ago.
Do you think that consumer preferences in the ‚old world‘ and ‚new world’ are different and have influenced wine makers?
Yes, absolutely to both parts of this question. In general, sweeping terms there are differences in preference of style for consumers around the world. Historically, preferences arose because of familiarity and access to local or regional wines. Generally, food and flavor preferences all converged around what was locally available and thus emerged “style” of Old World wines and regions. Historically, wines were grown, produced, sold, and consumed much more locally and thus reflected and reinforced regional preferences. In the New World we’ve been much less bound by centuries of tradition and have generally been an amalgamation of culture and style. New World consumers tend to be less bound or influenced by tradition much more willing to accept different flavor profiles.
Being part of the old / new world, have you been influenced by trends / techniques / experiences / role models from the ‚other‘ side of the world?
Of course, we all have our influences that shape our philosophy and style. We love many of the traditional practices of Old World wineries. We visit Europe as often as possible to taste and learn from our fellow growers and winemakers. In many ways, our approach is heavily influenced by Old World, traditional techniques.
In the vineyard, we farm organically. We manage yields on a per vine and per acre basis and seek out very cool sites with old vines (30-50 year old vines) to encourage full flavor development at as low of sugar accumulation as possible to manage total alcohol by volume.
In the cellar we only use indigenous yeast for spontaneous ferments. We keep our cellars very cool year around to encourage protracted primary and secondary fermentations in our Chardonnay. We use only 2-3 coopers in our cellar and really use restraint in the application of new oak in aging. Rarely does any wines see more than 35% new oak. All of our wines are bottled without fining or filtration and are not cold stabilized. We work very hard on the perimeter to maintain very clean cellar conditions so that we don’t have to intervene during the fermentation and aging process. We’re not Luddites though! We fully embrace advanced technology in the cellar as a way to guide and inform decisions that are being made. We have very modern lab equipment and we outsource much of our lab work to highly advanced companies that can give us great insight into what’s happening microscopically in our wines. In that sense, we feel we are very true to our ethos of artisanal, quiet winemaking (Old World) while using as much technology as possible to understand and ensure precise winemaking protocols (New World).
How would you describe the style of your winery in the context of ‚old & new world‘?
Best of both worlds! We are a modern, New World winery without doubt. However, where we have found success and where our wines standout in the New World is that we very much apply the philosophies and traditions of the Old World in our daily approach. We are very, very traditional in how we grow and produce wine. I believe a winemaker from hundreds of years ago could walk through our cellar and be very comfortable with the traditional approach to our winemaking. At the same time, we have the luxury of modern technology to confirm what we believe is happening during fermentation and elevage. We can use this technology to plot and record each vineyard, each lot, and compare data year over year to get a better understanding the macro view of our sites and our wines.
How much of your wine production is going to ‚old world‘ vs. ‚new world‘ markets?
Less than 5% of our wine is currently exported to the “old world”. However, we see strong interest in many European countries for growth. I do believe that the world is much smaller and that younger people are much less tied to traditions. I believe there is more acceptance and acknowledgment of New World wines in the Old World. Where once it was very difficult to sell California wines into Europe we are seeing a shift in acceptance and appreciation by Europeans for New World wines. By far, Europe is our biggest international growth market.