New World Icons: Napa, Mendoza, Barossa and Marlborough, Decoded

Old World wine is often labelled by place and tradition. The New World, broadly the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, built its reputation more on grape varieties, sunshine and bold winemaking. Four regions in particular turned a single grape into a global signature. Each is worth knowing, because each shows what a variety can become far from home.

Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

Napa, north of San Francisco, became California's first American Viticultural Area in 1981, but its fame was sealed earlier. At the 1976 Judgment of Paris, a blind tasting organised by Steven Spurrier, a Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon placed first among the reds, ahead of top Bordeaux. Today Napa Cabernet means ripe blackcurrant, cocoa and cedar, a full body and polished tannin, often framed by new French oak. Sub-regions such as Oakville, Rutherford and Stags Leap District each add their own accent.

Mendoza Malbec and Barossa Shiraz

• Malbec came from south-west France, where it is also known as Côt, and found a second home in Argentina. Mendoza grows most of the country's wine.
• Many of Mendoza's best vineyards sit high in the foothills of the Andes, especially in the Uco Valley, where intense sunshine and cool nights give deep colour, plum and violet notes, and soft tannins.
• Shiraz, the same grape as Syrah, is the signature of South Australia's Barossa Valley: rich, dark-fruited, peppery and warm.
• Phylloxera, the pest that destroyed many of Europe's vineyards, never reached South Australia, so the Barossa still farms some exceptionally old vines. Its Old Vine Charter classifies them by age.

The New World did not copy the classics. It took the same grapes and asked a different question: what happens with more sun?

Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc

• At the north-eastern tip of New Zealand's South Island, Marlborough combines bright sunshine with cool nights.
• Commercial vineyards only arrived in the 1970s; producers such as Cloudy Bay, founded in 1985, helped make the style famous worldwide.
• Expect passion fruit, grapefruit, gooseberry and fresh-cut grass, with high acidity and usually no oak.
• Perfect with goat's cheese, seafood, salads and Asian dishes with herbs and lime.

What to open first

• Grilled ribeye: Napa Cabernet or Barossa Shiraz.
• Asado or a relaxed barbecue: Mendoza Malbec.
• Aperitif, oysters or ceviche: Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.
• Compare each with its Old World cousin, Bordeaux, Cahors, the northern Rhône and Sancerre, to understand the role of climate.
• Many of these wines are generous in alcohol; pour modestly and keep water on the table.