New World
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CartedAmerique.jpeg
CartedAmerique.jpeg
Carte d'Amérique, Guillaume Delisle, c. 1774
The New World is one of the names used for the continents of North and South America and adjacent islands collectively, in use since the 16th century. The continents were new to the Europeans, who thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa (the Old World).
Nowadays, the term is generally used:
- in a historical context when talking about the European "discovery" of the Americas, as in discussions of Spanish exploration, Christopher Columbus, etc.
- in describing biomes within biology, such as the Neotropic and Nearctic.
While the Americas are always described as "New World," Australasia can be described as either "Old World" or "New World" depending on the sphere of discourse.
The New World is distinct from the modern world.
Wine
In relation to wine, the New World is
- that produced outside the traditional wine-growing areas of Europe and North Africa, particularly wines from North and South America, South Africa, and Australasia.
- a style of wine popularized by New World producers. It is described by grape variety rather than vineyard, is stereotypically riper, darker in color, fuller-bodied, smoother, fruitier and more alcoholic than traditional European products. The term has come to describe a wine with some or all of these characteristics produced in any wine region.