The best of Old World
Lines in the sand.
As we take a look at our old world collection today, we have to wonder firstly, what is the old world, and why is it the old world?
To begin with, let’s place the ‘old world’ in the context of our modern understanding of the wine industry. The old world is essentially the area around the south of Europe and the Mediterranean basin that has been growing and perfecting the winemaking craft for the last couple of thousand years, more or less since the occupation of the Romans.
Old world countries that we tend to think of today include France, Spain, Italy, and a few other smaller wine-growing regions as well.
The new world, to add contrast, is the winemaking world that has grown since the 1500’s when European settlers began to colonise other parts of the world. Bringing with them (among many other things, both good - and often bad), the vine and winemaking knowledge. Common new world countries that we tend to think of are Australia, America, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, to name a few.
To say that the old world is indeed where winemaking began is quite incorrect. Winemaking has existed for many thousands of years in various forms and guises before the likes of France and Italy got their hands on it. It was likely transported from the Indus Valley and Caucuses to the west via the Greeks and various other trade bodies, and then spread through Europe with the Roman conquests. At one point we know wine making was growing even all the way up in Eboracum, the Roman name for what is now York in England. A region that is hard to imagine growing grapes for wine these days given that we live in a slightly cooler climate than they did during the Roman occupation of north west Europe.
This idea of climate being a factor in where grapes and winemaking exists is actually what has defined the old world as we know it, and it is what we will be looking at today in terms of understanding wine more generally, and what we can look for in a top notch investment wine.
So how does climate affect grapes?
To put it in its simplest form. Most wine grapes, the cultivar of which is Vitis Vinifera, will not ripen fully in climates that are too cold. And will over ripen and become too sweet for winemaking in climates that are too hot. Think of it as a Goldilocks fruit, it likes, grape variety depending, to exist somewhere in that comfortable middle ground where it is not too hot and not too cold.
This middle ground, for the last few hundred years has existed in a range from latitude 50 degrees to 30 degrees. Or -50 to -30 degrees in the Southern Hemisphere. In Europe this equates roughly to the edges of North Africa, all the way up to Northern France near the Loire Valley and Champagne regions. And the same band below the equator encompasses southern Australia, New Zealand, parts of South Africa, and parts of Chile and Argentina.
Within these zones it is said that the best grapes for winemaking are grown. Grapes that will have enough sunshine and heat to ripen fully, whilst not losing too much acidity. When you are looking for investment wines then, you can more or less say that any region that falls within these boundaries has a much better chance of being an age worthy wine, than a region that does not fall within these lines in the sand.
Is it really that simple?
Unfortunately, drawing a line around the globe and saying this is where grapes grow is not always exactly right in practice. Think of it as a field of probability where it is ‘likely’ that grapes in these regions will grow better than grapes outside of these regions.
But a good wine connoisseur will also have an avid interest in geography and climate sciences. There are many factors that also affect the climate of a local area, and can lead to some exceptional grapes or grape varieties being grown in regions that you might not necessarily expect. A good example in the new world would be some of the more northerly parts of Argentine and Chile. Places where it would be considered too hot to grow grapes. However, winemakers have been cunning and employed the use of mountains in order to mitigate this problem. By growing grapes thousands of meters above sea level in the Andes and various other valleys that act as tributaries to this mountain range, grape growing has thrived. The altitude cools the air just enough, especially at night, to slow down the grape ripening process and preserve that vital acidity. A good example of this is Uco Valley in Mendoza, Argentina.
An example of a wine region outside these boundaries in the old world could be Mosel Valley In Germany. A region that would normally be considered to perhaps be a bit too cold for grape growing. They use south facing, steep hills to capture as much sunlight as possible. And grow grapes right next to a large river which has the duel purpose of acting as a heat storage unit during the evening and at night. (Water naturally loses heat at a slower rate than land). As well as reflecting sunlight off the waters surface and up into the vine leaves.
So how did they grow grapes in York?
Well as we know, climate change is quickly becoming a global crisis in the making. Regardless of your political view, the science is conclusively pointing towards the fact that the planet is warming faster than it has done for a very long time.
During the Roman occupation of Britannia, modern day England, the climate was warmer, and it was indeed possible to grow grapes nearly as far north as Scotland. However that climate did change dramatically around the same time that the Roman Empire began to fall to the Huns. This is the time when Europe fell into the ‘dark ages’ a time of technological regression, infighting, poverty and political upheavals. Much of this disastrous time is attributed to this change in climate affecting even simple economies such as farming. Once the products usually grown in an area could not grow anymore in this much colder world, it became very difficult for these relatively primitive societies to survive.
This process is now happening again in reverse. We are starting to see the climate warm up, and all of a sudden areas of the world that were not able to grow good wine grapes, have suddenly become award winning. Places such as South England and Wales, and even Sweden have begun to start making wine, and showed a degree of aptitude for it. Meanwhile, places like Spain are beginning to suffer from both droughts and increased heat intensity. A good example of this can be found in Jumilla near Murcia, where Grenache was often grown, wine makers are beginning to use a lot more Monastrell in their blends, Also known as Mourvèdre in France, due to its higher tolerance for heat and water scarcity.
It is likely as we go forward that these typical latitude boundaries designated as prime wine growing regions will shift. And so the savvy wine investor needs to stay abreast of these changes as well. It is likely that the famed regions of the past will give way to new famed regions of the future. Perhaps Burgundy and Champagne will fall away and places like the Loire valley, Normandy, and south east England will become the new gold standards?
So climate is important for wine investment?
The climate is extremely important in understanding whether a wine will have quality or not. And though it is fair to say there are many factors affecting a local regions climate. By and large, you can tend to gauge where the longevity, and therefore investability of a wine will sit based on where it is grown. That is why we have released this old world collection, because despite climate change, these regions are still producing some of the finest wines in the world.
So where can I get some good Old World wines to invest in?
As always, we have you covered. We have dropped a selection of excellent wine offerings from all over Europe this week, covering France, Spain, and Italy. We hope you will enjoy the selection we have carefully curated for you.
For more news, knowledge, and wine chats?
As always, happy investing, and for more bite sized pieces of wine knowledge to help you navigate this fine wine market. Make sure to stay tuned for future articles, and check out our previous articles too.
Legacy collection — VI Australia, a little look at some old bushes
Legacy collection — V Tuscany and grape yields
Legacy collection — IV A deep dive into Rioja
Legacy collection — III Adventures with Whisky.
Legacy collection — II Burgundy and weather.
Legacy collection — I Napa Valley
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All the best!
