Christian: When they think of great wine and the most famous winemaking regions most oenophiles’ (wine snobs) minds would wander to France and the famous regions of Champagne, Burgundy, Alsace, and the Rhone. But since the mid 20th century, the winemaking bug has been spreading across the globe, and world-class wine can be found from most continents on Earth. So wine is often divided into two categories: Old World, from France, Italy, Germany, and Spain, and New World, from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Chile—just to name a few areas. There still is much discussion and debate in the wine world over whether the best New World wines ever have the complexities, subtle nuances, or comparable greatness of the classic wines of the Old World.
David: For me the answer is simple. I don’t think so! The best, most complex pinot noir comes from Burgundy, France; the best cabernet and merlot-based wines are hands down- from Bordeaux. Don’t even get me started on Italian varietals. Italian grapes grown outside of Italy usually turn out to be a disaster. I have never had a bottle of California Sangiovese that I could finish. I usually can barely get through a glass. And then there is Riesling. Do you really think that Niagara or the Finger Lakes of New York will ever compete with hundreds of years of German winemaking experience? No way!
Christian: Wow, looks like I have struck a nerve with you here, Dave. I can agree with you on Italian varietals and the German wine thing. But lets look at pinot noir for a minute. I have to admit I have a real hard time with your favorite wine region of Burgundy. We have done some pretty expensive tastings lately of “great red Burgundy” and I have, for the most part, been let down. First of all, the prices are through the roof. And once you have plopped all that money down for a bottle, you are not guaranteed good quality juice. It takes a heck of a lot of homework to find quality producers and great bottles of Burgundy—and also a very thick wallet. I know I will enjoy a fruit forward pinot noir from your old stomping grounds of Santa Barbara or even better the pinots of Oregon. The best part is there is no monetary stress or massive amount of research needed to find a great bottle.
David: I think a lot of this comes down to personal preference. The wines of the Old World tend to be more complex and cerebral. If you want a quick, fruity, very simple drink, there’s nothing wrong with a California pinot. Yet many New World wines are so huge, sweet, massive, and over-oaked that there is no subtlety or complexity at all. A lot of the New World is obsessed with making huge, sexed-up fruit bombs. Where’s the passion for creating a masterpiece that will last decades?  Let’s talk about Bordeaux for a minute. The 2005 vintage is soon to been released, and this is a classic vintage. Fifty years from now people will be popping 2005 Chateau Lafite Rothschild in their cellars and the wine will sing.
Christian: That wine better sing; at $650 a bottle, it should dance too!
David: I know it does seem crazy to spend $650 on a bottle of wine, but it’s simple economics: supply vs. demand.
Christian: I am not saying that I am swearing off Old World Wines. There is a place for everything. For me 99% of the time when I look at a wine list I go for New World Wines. There are some as you said “sexed up monsters” that are massive, such as many Aussie shirazs’ and some super big Cali cabernets. I avoid those wines like you do. But a great Napa Valley floor Cabernet with a nose of violets, and red fruit excites me so much more than a bottle of expensive Bordeaux that smells like manure in a burlap sack. You call that nose subtle and elegant, I’ll call it poop!

David: Christian, you are missing the big picture here. Wine is complex, it is a living organism. It changes and matures with time. The Old World Wines are classics because they age so well. The classic terroir and vines that are hundreds of years old enable every glass to tell a story.  Let me make an analogy: Old World wines are like a classic novel, like say Moby Dick, new world wines are like reading the Cliff Notes. You get the gist of the story, but there is so much more there that you are missing out on.  And, by the way, there’s nothing wrong with poop in a glass!
Christian: Okay, nice analogy. It is even more fitting because you know that I am not the biggest of readers. I would probably take the Cliff Notes over the book! Did you forget about the Judgement of Paris, 1976? Which wines came out on top again? Weren’t they Californian?
David: I thought you might go there. Just realize how old the vines of Stags Leap and Chateau Montelena are though. Anyway, I think we could beat this one to death for hours. Let’s just agree that we often look for different things in a bottle of wine. And one thing that we have always tried to get across in this column is that what you like is what you like. No one can tell you what is right, it is your palate.
So why don’t we let the readers do the experiment for themselves here is a new world wine and old world wine that won’t break the bank, see which one is your style.
Christian: I am going to go with a wine that is perfect for grilled meats, sausage and game. The syrah grape originates from the Rhone Valley of France. The New World syrah is now being made by the nicknamed “Rhone Rangers” of the central coast of California. Try Fess Parker Syrah owned by the Davy Crocket actor. This winery put out some fairly poor products in the late 1990s but I am happy to say that they are now once again making outstanding wine. Also the wineries entry level wines called Parker Station are a deal!
David: Why not? The most famous producer of the Rhone Valley, France has to be Etienne Guigal, who has wine that run the gamut from $15 to $500 per bottle. Guigal’s Cote du Rhone is on the more affordable side of that spectrum. This syrah based wine is always pleasant with rich and juicy dark fruits of blackberry, and plum matched with white pepper and subtle nuances and forest floor. Outstanding with grilled meats, especially lamb.