New World or Old? Vive la différence

When experts taste wines blind (labels hidden), the first question they're likely to ask themselves is the most basic of all: "New World or Old?" Alex De Winter of Grill 23 & Bar thinks this is because a correct answer will orient the taster quickly to what's in his glass.

To sniff out a New World wine, De Winter says he looks for "candy-ish fruit" or a "glycerine texture." Though his upscale Berkeley Street steakhouse is known as a shrine to California cabernet, the wine buyer has success with Old World wines that mimic Napa's heft and ripeness.

Larry Bender of Ideal Wine & Spirits was one of two tasters to correctly identify Chateau Montrose as Old World. For him, New World means more richness and concentration -- the result of vines that are more "nourished." He looks for a certain firmness in the mouth (he calls it "grip") to identify an Old World wine and thinks California cabernets often lack acidity in the finish, where its presence is critical to support the wine.

French-born Stephen Carrier says a diminished level of acidity is often the surest clue to New World provenance. The winemaker says the biggest challenge he faces in California is keeping the acidity up and the alcohol in bounds -- not easy to accomplish in a climate where grapes ripen quickly. When it comes to younger wines, he'll take Napa over Bordeaux.

No. 9 Park's Cat Silirie emphasizes that the categories can easily be confused, especially when a ripe vintage, modern winemaking, and lots of new oak combine to obscure natural differences. She identifies "exuberant fruit" as the true hallmark of New World wine, along with an inherent sweetness and "glossy" texture. Silirie is convinced the distance between the Old and New World remains more or less the same as ever.

STEPHEN MEUSE