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.

What is Puliniacus?

A. A heritage strain of yeasts used in the 18th century when Champagne as we know it began

B. The name of a Roman poet who wrote about the beneficial relationship between wine and the emotions

C. The name of a village that later became known as Puligny-Montrachet

D. A type of rot that can overtake botrytis cinerea in the vineyard, potentially devastating sweet wine production in the vineyard affected

Originally a Gallo-Roman village known as “Puliniacus,” Puligny-Montrachet got its current name in the late nineteenth century. The wines of Puligny-Montrachet (poo-le-KNEE mon-ra-SHAY) are often considered the most ravishing chardonnays in the world. The tiny village (just 1,260 acres) sits in between two other great white wine villages—Chassagne-Montrachet to the south and Meursault to the north. Before World War II, the village was also planted with wheat, blackcurrants, and mulberries.

Fiasco

Literally, “a flask” in Italian, but more often the word fiasco is used to describe the bulbous, straw-encased Chianti bottle that was a fixture of the bohemian lifestyle in the 1960s in the United States.… Continue reading

Get WineSpeed