I've got a pretty good handle on the stylistic differences between Old and New World, and the reasons underlying those differences, but lately "international style" is cropping up as descriptors.

How's this new model explained?

tgb

TGB,

My take on it is that some of the "Old World" style winemakers are making a less rustic, more fruit forward, less acidic and more pedestrian wines. In a blind tasting you might not have a clue where the wine was made. I also think "International" is not seen as a "label" like "New" or "Old".

Good question

Look forward to seeing what others think.

on the other hand, the new world style (with its fresh fruit) is blended with old world techniques, such as wild yeast fermentations, to gain depth of character and complexity. This is to make a much better wine.

pete

www.peterhowlandwines.com

quote:

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Originally posted by TGB:
I've got a pretty good handle on the stylistic differences between Old and New World, and the reasons underlying those differences, but lately "international style" is cropping up as descriptors.

How's this new model explained?

tgb

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international = pot luck.

Can you give some examples of an "international" style wine?

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AIM: Drunken Mariachi

Vina Lanciano Rioja as an "International style wine". I must admit that following the typical associations between new and old world wines, I can see the difference. However, as a creation of a new "category" if you will, I do not think that this will emerge as a likely third party. It does hold a unique palate and finish, but I feel none more so that many Riojas I have previously tasted. Perhaps "new vocabulary" is the issue.

12 clicks,

The New World model is much more likely, not totally, to be described as "varietal," not only as to the bottle labelling practices, but also as to the taste/flavor/palate aspects. And the wine is usually "fruit driven" with emphasis on richness, ripeness, and alcohol levels. Many people ascribe this model to Parker with his original reviews of the 1982 Bordeaux vintage, which many of his critics said would not live long.

Simplistic, I know, but like the other two or three thousand generalities that abound in the wine industry, the above is my understanding of the new world model.

tgb

quote:

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I've got a pretty good handle on the stylistic differences between Old and New World, and the reasons underlying those differences, but lately "international style" is cropping up as descriptors.
How's this new model explained?

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international style = Middle Earth

You just can't underestimate the influence of the Lord of the Rings trilogy any more.

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Cheers.

so international style is where there's a lot of fruit action going on accompanied with plenty of minerals / earthy notes?

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AIM: Drunken Mariachi

I would add that when I think "international" I think of a wine that is not typical to region in which it is made. For example, a southern Rhone wine usually shows earthiness, while an international style wine from the southern Rhone would be more fruity, as described above.

snow sucks, cold is worse.......

there is quite a debate going in INAO about simillar issue. INAO wants to strip some producers of the AOC status, because their wines are not typical enough and therefore misleading the public. these producers are up in arms, accusing INAO of promoting mediocre winemaking techniques and punishing overachievers. who is right and who is wrong greatly depends on your wine tastes. i think with goverment backing, INAO has enough power to support current winemaking practices and punish the troublemakers, like Marcel Richaud, whose wines would have to be sold as Vins De Table and i, for one, would buy them even they had Vin de Merde written on it, who cares!? i know what i want and where to find it. labels don't influence me much. but what about the majority of wine consumers? do they expect wine to be of certain character or do they simply regard AOC as a seal of quaity? should INAO go after producers, whose wines, many with a little help from travelling super oenologists, will please wine critics worldwide, but be nothing like the rest of the bunch? i think the choice is obvious - bring on Vin de Table!

Free Martha!

[This message was edited by grunhauser on Feb 01, 2004 at 06:13 PM.]

The appellation system works because it is, in fact, a guarantee of origin and typicity. You can be sure it has what Matt Kramer likes to call "somewhereness." If it's labelled "Bordeaux" we can expect, for example, that it will not have any Syrah in it. (hopefully)

Antinori's Tignanello broke the Chianti mold by just going outside of it with a Cab/Sangiovese blend. It was originally labeled Vino de tabla. It now, I believe it has its own appellation.

I remember an article years ago where a producer in St. Emilion, I think, who put down some plastic in his vineyard so the intense rains wouldn't wash away inches of the topsoil. He was immediately slapped on the wrist for varying from the appellation guidelines.

Change comes slowly but it does seem that there is a bland fruity sameness to many wines these days. If "international" is that direction, I'm not sure I'm looking forward to it. Where's the uniqueness?

tgb

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I remember an article years ago where a producer in St. Emilion, I think, who put down some plastic in his vineyard so the intense rains wouldn't wash away inches of the topsoil. He was immediately slapped on the wrist for varying from the appellation guidelines.

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I think that was Christian Moeuilleux.

but I think that the break by Antinori may have signalled the use of the I.G.T. labelling, or Indicazione Geographica Typica. I think this is the license that gives producers the opportunity to "blend" their wines outside of the D.O.C., and D.O.C.G. classifications.