What is the difference between Old World and New World wine?

Old World is the usual name for the European wine countries and the Middle East. New World stands for the regions where viticulture only got going after the colonial period.

The Old World includes France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Greece, Hungary and Georgia. The New World includes the United States, Chile, Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, among others. The balance is lopsided. The International Organisation of Vine and Wine put world production in 2025 at 227 million hectolitres, of which about 60 percent came from the European Union.

No. No European regulation and no national law recognises the terms old world or new world. It is trade jargon from the wine trade and wine press, nothing more.

European wine law works with different categories: wine without a geographical indication, wine with a protected geographical indication and wine with a protected designation of origin. Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 sets out that framework; Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/33 governs the label.

European labels usually lead with the appellation, because the origin is legally defined. Outside Europe the grape variety is more often the main designation, with an area of origin beside it.

In the European Union a single grape variety may be named on a wine with a protected designation if at least 85 percent of the wine comes from that variety. In the United States that threshold is 75 percent, and then an area of origin must also be on the label. The choice to put the region or the variety first is therefore a habit, not a legal difference between continents.

A protected designation of origin ties the wine to an area: all grapes must come from that area. With a protected geographical indication that is at least 85 percent.

Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 stipulates that a designation of origin is protected only after it has been recognised and registered in the Union. The national systems fall under that European heading: the French AOP, the Italian DOP and the Spanish DOP.

No. The classification says nothing about quality or price class. Both groups produce both simple and very serious wines; it is an indication of origin, not of rank.

What the classification does say something about is the legal framework a bottle falls under and the way the label is structured. A European wine with a protected designation of origin must stick to a defined area, defined varieties and a maximum yield per hectare.