Compared to What?

Les McCann and Eddie Harris were a couple of jazz musicians who struck gold in the early 1970s with a crossover hit called Compared to What.  It was an anthem on college campuses when yours truly found himself in that milieu.  The lyrics, like most pop music, don't make sense but what we heard as rebellious youth was confirmation that there was a disconnect between what we were told to believe politically and what we were actually witnessing in the country at that time.  What can I say, it was a different time.  

In a way, the wine world is divided today between historic old Europe with their longer, drier, winier flavors and and new world jammy forward fruit.  They appear to be quite opposite one another.  We here at V&C have taken the position that Old Europe makes dinner wines while California makes cocktail wines.  But that doesn't really cover it either.  If a meal has complex sauces, gravies, stews or soups those longer winier flavors do seem to work best.  If it's hamburgers, steaks or broiled fish then a simpler wine may be better. 

So why do winemakers around the world always compare what they do to the European models?  My Cab is very Bordeaux-like.  My Pinot is very Burgundian.  Implied here in such comments is an acknowledgement that the historic standards for such things are accurate.  The best examples of type are European.

But it gets complicated when you consider all of the technological improvements in winemaking resulting in fresher fruitier wines everywhere.  Including in Europe where much of the innovative winemaking technology has been developed.  Today you can taste Euro wines that are indistinguishable from new world fare.  Like I said, it gets complicated.

But when you consider personal tastes, which is really what this all comes down to, I'm wondering if the old world/new world scenario as described is even relevant anymore.  Winemakers everywhere are competing for the same worldwide market and they are winning, not by setting themselves off as better than others but by riding the wave of what works now, circa 2026.  

Wine quality today is better than ever so whether you need a dinner accompaniment or just a glass after work, enjoy yourself.  You deserve it.  Compare it to what?  If anything, contrast it to beer or other alternatives and know that what the winemaker creates is indeed art.