Ep 596: Back to Basics - Defining Old World & New World (and why it still matters)

Wine for Normal People

Arts, Food

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this show I go back to basics (the last time I covered this topic was in 2011 -- episode 7!!) and discuss the differences between the terms New World and Old World.

Although it seems totally basic, there has been controversy over using these terms, with some writers saying they are antiquated, non specific, and need to be replaced. I disagree. I discuss the usefulness of the terms and why they should still exist as terms in wine from three main perspectives:

Geographical and historical perspectives
REAL terroir differences that make the wines different
Differences in regulation make Old World wines very consistent (and they conform to stereotypes!)

Here are links to the articles that I mention:

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Wine for Normal People, the podcast for people who like wine, but not the snobbery that goes with it.
0:15.8	I'm your host Elizabeth Schneider, author of the Wine for Normal People book and Certified Wine Dork.
0:21.3	This show is sponsored by Wine Access, the go-to source of people in the wine industry for
0:26.0	hard-to-find, limited production of high-quality wines at great prices. You can hop online
0:31.2	anytime at Wine Access.com slash WFMP to get into the site or better yet. Let me make it easier for you by selecting your wines.
0:39.9	Join my wine club. Let me and Wine Access pick out six amazing bottles for you quarterly for just
0:44.9	$150, which includes shipping. Wine Access.com slash normal. Listen in the middle of the show for more
0:51.5	details. Here is another Back to Basics show.
0:57.0	This was a little bit more confusing than the first time I did it.
1:00.8	It was episode seven in 2011.
1:04.0	So it was a long time ago.
1:06.4	And since that time, some stuff has changed about people's feelings on using New World and Old World.
1:15.3	So I'll get into all of that.
1:17.2	And I'm going to spend a lot of time just talking about why I still think that these are valid terms, despite what other people like in the industry think.
1:25.0	I don't really know that it matters to us as normal wine people.
1:28.7	I think this is a real insider baseball debate.
1:31.1	But I also wonder if in the outside world, when people are talking about old world and new world,
1:36.6	that it's also a debate in historical circles.
1:39.9	It seems to be a little bit less so, but I don't really know.
1:43.5	Okay, before we get started, I need to
1:45.4	thank the patrons, p-at-R-E-O-N.com slash wine for normal people. Please join Patreon. If you have
1:52.6	the means and the desire, it helps keep the podcast going. And you get a ton of great perks.
	...

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