Old World

As applied to wine, Old World refers to those countries where wine first flourished, namely Western or Central European countries and others ringing the Mediterranean basin and in the near East. Old World techniques, by extension, refer to ways of growing grapes and making wines that rely more on tradition and less on science. The Old World is usually talked about in contrast to the NEW WORLD. Wine producers in the New World, however, are often fond of saying that they employ Old World techniques as a way of establishing that their wines are made at least in part by traditional methods.