vocab. terms

[Botafogo]

Old World Wines are and taste like they are from some place. New World Wines (many of which are made in the Old World for consumtion in the American market) taste like they were made by some ONE.

It is about the cult of terroir (place, dirt, typicity) vs the cult of the Wine "maker" ("we have the technology so who cares about the vineyards"). There was a very involved article in this week's New York Times explaining the sort of chemical and physical manipulation run amok that many famous wine "makers" use to make wines designed for focus groups and Mr. Parker. The best traditional producers will say to a man to their dying breath "God makes the wines in the vineyard and our job is to not screw it up"....

This is not just a matter of taste, it is a near religous schizm at the juncture of commerce and tradition. On a not unrelated note, do you think Aretha Franklin would even get a record deal in this age of pre-fab sex kitten "singers" like Brittney Spears? No, she's too old world, sounds like church and sex and chitlins and she's not pretty enough to make videos..... The "gatekeepers" would nix that deal the way the buyers at many wineshops and restaurants "protect" you from traditional wine styles.

la guerra continua, Roberto