New World wine
New World wines are those wines produced outside the traditional winegrowing areas of Europe and the Middle East, in particular from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States (primarily California). The phrase connotes a distinction between these "New World" wines and those wines produced in "Old World" countries with a long-established history of wine production, essentially in Europe, most notably: France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal.
History
Early wines in the Americas
Alcoholic beverages were made by indigenous peoples of the Americas before the Age of Discovery. Indigenous peoples are known to have used maize, potatoes, quinoa, pepper tree fruits and strawberries to make alcoholic beverages.[1] Despite the existence of species of the genus Vitis (to which Vitis vinifera belongs) in Venezuela, Colombia, Central America and Mexico, indigenous peoples did not ferment these species and therefore did not make wine.[1]
Spanish settlers in the Americas initially brought
Attempts to grow vines in the Americas began in
The most common of the early grapes was a black grape called Mission (Spanish: Misión) which was planted in Mexico and subsequently also in Texas,[3] and later in California. Grapes of the same stock were planted in Peru where it received the name Negra peruana (Peruvian black) and from this came the most common Chilean grape: the País. This Chilean grape was introduced into what is now Argentina where it came to be known as Criolla chica.[1] These grapes are supposed to have originated from Spain but there is also a possibility that they originated from Italy as they resemble very much the variety Mónica grown in Sardinia as well as Spain.[1]
In the second half of the 16th century, the demand for wine among Spanish settlers caused a surge in Spanish wine exports to Mexico and Cuba. However, this was not the case for Peru, Chile, and Argentina, where cultivation of vineyards had proven to be a success and, thus, required fewer imports of Spanish wines.[1] Relative to Peru and Chile, Spanish settlers in Mexico established very few vineyards by comparison.[4]
In the 16th and 17th century the principal winegrowing area of the Americas was in the central and southern coast of Peru,[5] specifically in the area of Ica and Pisco.[5] Apart from Peru and Chile Paraguay developed despite its high temperatures into a wine-making area in the 16th century. Hernando Arias de Saavedra who visited the city of Asunción in 1602 said there was 187 vineyards totalling 1.768.000 individual plants.[5] Other sources cite 2.000.000 and 1.778.000 plants around the same time.[5] Paraguayan wine was exported downstream to Santa Fe and from there to the Platine market.[6] Paraguayan wine is also known to have reached Córdoba in central Argentina.[6]
Changes in the Americas and opening of South Africa
In 1595 the Spanish Crown banned the establishment of new vineyards in
The growth of mining in Potosí in present-day Bolivia, which became the largest city in the Americas in the 17th century, created a constant demand for wine which was supplied mainly from Peru.[6] In Potosí part of salaries were paid with wine.[6] Furthermore, Peruvian wine growers supplied the city of Lima, the most important political centre in South America in the 16th and 17th centuries.[6] In Chile wine demand was guaranteed by the Army of Arauco, a permanent army financed with silver from Potosí which fought native Mapuches.[6] In the view that Parauguayan wine could not compete in these three markets Paraguayans abandoned winegrowing and sought instead income from tobacco and yerba mate exports.[6] In the 18th century practically no winegrowing occurred in Paraguay.[6]
In 1687 the whole southern coast of Peru was struck by the 1687 Peru earthquake which destroyed the cities of Villa de Pisco and Ica.[7] The earthquake destroyed wine cellars and mud containers used for wine storage.[6] This event marked the end of the Peruvian wine-boom.[7] The suppression of the Society of Jesus in Spanish America in 1767 caused the Jesuit vineyards in Peru to be auctioned at high prices but new owners did not have the same expertise as the Jesuits contributing to a production decline.[6] Peruvian wine-making was further challenged by the fact that production of pisco, also made from grapes, rose from being exceeded in the early 18th century by wine to represent 90% of the grape beverages prepared in Peru in 1764.[6] Even after the shift to pisco making vineyards in Peru encountered economic troubles since in the late 18th century the Spanish Crown lifted the ban on the production of rum in Peru which was cheaper to make but of lower quality than pisco.[5][6]
The decline of Peruvian wine even caused Peru to import some wine from Chile as it happened in 1795 when Lima imported 5.000 troves (Spanish: botijas) from Concepción in southern Chile.[6][8] This particular export showed the emergence of Chile relative to Peru as a wine-making region.[6] Eduard Friedrich Poeppig claimed, as some others did before him, that the wines from Concepción were the best of Chile, likely due to the less arid climate of southern Chile.[8]
The New World imported wine from the early days of European colonisation, particularly for religious purposes. Perhaps the first significant example of the trade going the other way was Constantia from South Africa, which by the 18th century had become a firm favourite among European royalty.[9][10]
New World wines in the Industrial Age
Vine cuttings from the Cape of Good Hope were brought to the penal colony of New South Wales by Governor Phillip on the First Fleet (1788).[11] An attempt at wine making from these first vines failed, but with perseverance, other settlers managed to successfully cultivate vines for winemaking, and Australian made wine was available for sale domestically by the 1820s.[12] In 1822 Gregory Blaxland became the first person to export Australian wine, and was the first winemaker to win an overseas award.[13] In 1830 vineyards were established in the Hunter Valley.[11] In 1833 James Busby returned from France and Spain with a serious selection of grape varieties including most classic French grapes and a good selection of grapes for fortified wine production.[11]
Early Australian winemakers faced many difficulties, particularly due to the unfamiliar Australian climate. However they eventually achieved considerable success. "At the 1873 Vienna Exhibition the French judges, tasting blind, praised some wines from Victoria, but withdrew in protest when the provenance of the wine was revealed, on the grounds that wines of that quality must clearly be French."[14] Australian wines continued to win high honours in French competitions. A Victorian Syrah (also called Shiraz) competing in the 1878 Paris Exhibition was likened to Château Margaux and "its taste completed its trinity of perfection."[14] One Australian wine won a gold medal "first class" at the 1882 Bordeaux International Exhibition and another won a gold medal "against the world" at the 1889 Paris International Exhibition.[14]
Chilean wine begun to modernize in 1851 when
The region of
During the 19th century Peruvian wine-making went further into decline. Demand in industrialized Europe caused many Peruvian winegrowers to shift the land use from vineyards to lucrative cotton fields, contributing further to the decline of the wine and pisco industry.[7] This was particularly true during the time of the American Civil War (1861–1865) when the cotton prices skyrocketed due to the Blockade of the South and its cotton fields.[6] Also in South Africa did wine making suffer a stunning blow in the 1860s with the implementation of the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty in 1860 that forced South African wines to compete with French wines in Britain and resulted a doubling of French wine imports to Britain.[16] South African vineyards also suffered a second setback after the arrival of the Phylloxera plague in the 1880s.[17]
Country | Share (%) |
Argentina | 39.51 |
Chile | 33.64 |
United States | 19.93 |
Brazil | 3.98 |
Peru | 1.22 |
Uruguay | 1.14 |
Bolivia | 0.32 |
Mexico | 0.22 |
20th century
Chilean wine exports to Argentina were hampered by the lack of effective land transport and a series of war scares. This situation changed after the
Characteristics of New World wines
Style
Since New World vineyards are generally in hotter climates than those of Central-Northern Europe – in fact some major New World regions are irrigated
Varietal labelling
Traditionally New World wine used names of well-known European regions, such as Burgundy, Champagne, Sherry, Port, and Hock. This gave consumers a general idea of how the wine might taste. This changed as winemakers developed the confidence to develop their own styles of wine such as Grange. Europeans producers objected to the use of their regional names, and writers such as Frank Schoonmaker in the US encouraged the use of varietal names as used on Alsace wine. One reason was that unlike Europe, there was no history of particular localities being associated with particular styles of wine, and winemakers might buy in grapes from many sources. Indeed, wines such as Grange specifically ignored the origin of the grapes in order to achieve a more consistent style. So led by winemakers such as Robert Mondavi, varietal labelling became common during the 1960s and 1970s, and has since spread to most of Eastern Europe and much of Western Europe.
Subsequently, New World winemakers have 'rediscovered' the art of blending wines, with blends such as
Marketing
Being less dependent on geography, New World wines have placed more emphasis on branding as a marketing tool, following the example set by Germany's
Ownership
The greater size of New World wine companies has made them attractive targets for multinational drinks companies seeking to exploit the trend towards drinking wine rather than beer or spirits. Thus, the
Wine-making countries
This section needs additional citations for verification. (May 2015) |
Argentina
Argentina is the world's fifth biggest wine producer
The long history of viticulture in Argentina[20] has brought forth the evolution of many local varieties, but perhaps the most typically Argentine grape is the Torrontés, which makes an aromatic white wine. However, Argentines love red wine to go with their famous steaks. Malbec has proven to be the most successful variety in export markets, with Barbera and "Bonarda" (now known to be Corbeau, a minor variety from Savoie) being blended into more affordable wines.
The
.Australia
Vine cuttings from South Africa were brought on the First Fleet (1788), and though the settlers took time to adapt to the new conditions, wine exports began in 1822. As mentioned above, by the 1880s Australian wines were winning prizes in Europe. Phylloxera struck in eastern winegrowing regions from the 1870s, leading to the destruction of many vineyards. With South Australia free from Phylloxera it contains some of the oldest continuously harvested vineyards on earth.[21]
While some Australian wines, their Chardonnays in particular, have previously been criticized for being over-oaked and over-ripe, Australian winemaking is now some of the most sophisticated in the world, with vineyards increasingly planted in cooler climates, such as
Canada
Canada followed a similar path to the eastern United States – early attempts to grow
Chile
As in Argentina, Chilean viticulture dates back to the
Chile is notable for being one of the few vine-growing regions to be free of phylloxera.
Colombia
The wine history of
Mexico
Mexico is the oldest wine-making region in the Americas.
In 1549, Spanish explorers and settlers came across a fertile valley in the present-day state of Coahuila where they encountered native vines and founded the Mission of Santa María de las Parras or "Holy Mary of the Vines". In 1597, the Hacienda de San Lorenzo was established by the Spanish settler Don Lorenzo García, where he founded, along with other Spanish missionaries, Casa Madero – the oldest winery house in the Americas.
Many of the vines from
As of the 2013, about 90% of Mexican wine is produced in the northwestern state of
New Zealand
The New Zealand viticulture industry was started in a small way by Croatian immigrants at the end of the 19th century, but it was not until the 1970s that it began to flourish. Several factors came together at that time - Britain's entry into the European Economic Community in 1973 ended favourable terms of agricultural trade, while New Zealanders themselves developed a taste for wine as local alcohol licensing laws changed and cheap air travel exposed them to different cultures.
Various grapes were tried in the early years, but it was in the 1980s that New Zealand developed the distinctive style of Sauvignon blanc that became its trademark. Since then the Burgundy grapes of Chardonnay and Pinot noir have been developed in cooler, more southerly vineyards, with considerable success. More recently there has been increasing popularity for the 'aromatic' white varieties such as Gewürztraminer and Riesling, with Auslese styles also being attempted.
Peru
The first
In 1687 the whole southern coast of Peru was struck by the 1687 Peru earthquake which destroyed the cities of Villa de Pisco and Ica.[7] The earthquake destroyed wine cellars and mud containers used for wine storage.[6] This event marked the end of the Peruvian wine-boom.[7]
In 2008, there were some 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) of grape plantations in Peru, including
South Africa
Wine was first produced in South Africa by the founder of Cape Town in 1659, and by the late 18th century
United States
Although wine is made throughout the United States, 90% of it comes from California. The Gallo Winery runs an industrial facility in Modesto, California that produces the majority of the state's wine exports. Most of the rest is split between Washington state and New York state, followed by Oregon. California's earliest grape vines were imported from New Spain, or Mexico, which in turn were brought by Spanish explorers and settlers. North America has several native species of Vitis, from which wine has been made for a long time in the east of the country, although the 'foxy' aromas of wines produced from these species are not to everyone's taste. The Catawba variety led the way for winemaking from native species, first in Ohio and later in the Finger Lakes area of New York. California followed a similar path to Latin American countries, with Spanish missionaries starting the first vineyard of vinifera vines in 1769, and later immigrants from Bordeaux and Italy bringing their native grapes with them. Soon a thriving industry developed, particularly in the Napa Valley, which was stopped in its tracks by phylloxera and, uniquely, Prohibition (1920–1933).
One interesting consequence of Prohibition was that vineyards were replanted with lower quality grapes such as Alicante Bouschet that could survive transportation to home winemakers, and this tradition of home winemaking changed taste preferences from a dry style before Prohibition to a much sweeter style. In general Prohibition had a devastating effect on commercial winemaking in the country, which only started to recover in the late 1960s and 1970s under major industry pioneers such as Ernest and Julio Gallo, Robert Mondavi and the world-class viticultural scientists at the University of California, Davis. The latter institution has played a leading role in the recovery of wine in the United States, in particular identifying just what vines were actually planted (notably California's signature grape, the robust red Zinfandel, which was found to be Croatia's Crljenak Kaštelanski), and encouraging the use of better clones of the traditional European varieties. In the 1970s, geographical appellations were designated as American Viticultural Areas.
In the years after Prohibition, the domestic market demanded cheap 'jug wines' and sweet fortified wines. These tastes led to local styles such as
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Del Pozo 2004, pp. 24–34.
- ^ hdl:2142/61108.
- ISBN 1-56305-434-5.
- JSTOR 530503.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ doi:10.4067/S0718-23762005000200005.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ a b Del Pozo 2004, pp. 35–45.
- ^ The Oxford Companion to Wine. "Constantia". Archived from the original on 2008-08-08.
- ^ Atkin, Tim (18 January 2009). "Happy returns". The Guardian. London.
- ^ ISBN 0-316-72874-8.
- ISBN 0957703449.
- ^ Walsh, Gerald (1979). "The Wine Industry of Australia 1788 1979". Wine Talk. Canberra: A.N.U. Retrieved 8 September 2006.
- ^ ISBN 0-7139-9432-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-9122020943.
- ^ Woodward, Llewellyn (1962). The Age of Reform, 1815–1870 (2 ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 179.
- ^ Ponte, Stefano; Ewert, Joachim (2007). "South African Wine – An Industry in Ferment" (PDF). tralac.org. tralac Working Paper No. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-19. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
- ^ ISSN 0073-2435.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of January 2024 (link - ^ "Wine production (tons)". Food and Agriculture Organization. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ Darago, Alejandro (19 July 2023). "Argentina's Winemaking History" (PDF). Vino del Sol. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ^ "Phylloxera". phylloxera.com.au. Phylloxera and Grape Industry Board of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
- ^ "Global Wine Production 2019 Is Returning To 'Normal,' Says Pau Roca Of The OIV". www.forbes.com/. 3 November 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- ^ "History & Geography". Wines of Chile. 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
- ^ Catchpole, Karen (15 January 2014). "Colombia's Latest Venture: Wine". The Latin Kitchen. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ^ Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Perú (2006). "El Orígen" (in Spanish). RREE.gob.pe. Archived from the original on 15 November 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
- ^ Harrel, Courtney (2009). "Pisco por la razón o la fuerza" (in Spanish).
- ^ "Statistics". oiv.int. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- ISBN 0-19-860990-6.
Bibliography
Del Pozo, José (2004) [1998]. Historia del vino chileno (in Spanish) (3 ed.).