In viticulture these include the USA, South America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa (one could also add Canada). These areas were opened up for viticulture from the beginning of the 16th century onwards by the great voyages of discovery. The colonists had above all a religious motivation for viticulture, namely to produce mass wine. On the North American continent, especially on the east coast, there were numerous wild vines growing in the forests, but specific cultivation or winemaking was unknown among the Native Americans. The colonists could not make drinkable wine from them because of the peculiarity of the American vines. The wines made from them had the strawberry aroma or foxton, which was unpleasant for European tastes. Therefore, European varieties were planted everywhere. But mostly this was unsuccessful, because phylloxera, fungal diseases such as mildew, other vine diseases and extreme climatic conditions caused most attempts to fail. The causes remained unknown for centuries.
It worked better in the south, where these diseases and pests did not exist on this scale. In Central America there were native vines, but they were only used for consumption, and even here, cultivated viticulture was unknown. The first area with cultivation of European vines was the empire of the Aztecs on the 2,000 meter high plain in central Mexico. Here the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez (1485-1547) probably had the first vines planted as early as 1522. However, most sources mention the year 1540, when the historical Misión(Listán Prieto) was introduced by Franciscan monks. Subsequently, this was continued in Argentina, Chile, Peru and other countries in South America. Mostly by missionaries of various Roman Catholic monastic orders, vineyards were planted, among others, in the present US states of Virginia (1619), New Mexico (1629) and California (1769).
The Dutchman Jan van Riebeeck (1619-1677) planted the first vines near Cape Town in 1655, which was the beginning in South Africa. But the father of South African viticulture is considered to be the governor Simon van der Stel (1639-1712), who founded the famous Constantia Winery in 1685. From 1788, Australia was opened up for wine growing when an English convict ship under Captain Arthur Phillip landed in Sydney Harbour. And in the year 1819, New Zealand followed, where vines originating from Australia were planted on the North Island. Wine growing in the countries of the New World reached its first heights 200 years ago. In the 18th century, wines from South Africa were delivered to European ruling houses such as the Russian Tsar's court and wines from Chile to the Spanish royal court. In the 19th century wines from Argentina occupied top positions at world exhibitions and won many gold medals.
But then there was a standstill in viticulture from the beginning of the 20th century, and a new start was not made until the beginning of the 1960s. Particularly noteworthy as pioneering winegrowing pioneers are Robert Mondavi (1913-2008) and Joe Heitz (1919-2000) in Napa Valley, California, the Gallo brothers in Central Valley, California, Max Schubert (1915-1994) in Australia, and James Busby (1802-1871) in New Zealand. These men applied new winegrowing techniques and gave important impulses. They drew on the many years of experience of the traditional wine-growing countries Italy, France, Spain and Germany and introduced European varieties.
There are sometimes great differences in viticulture or winemaking between the Old and New World, but one cannot speak of general and forever valid customs. One thing the countries of the New World have in common is that they are perhaps more willing to experiment and try new techniques. Moreover, the not so narrowly defined wine laws often allow the producer much more leeway. Especially in the countries of the southern hemisphere (where the harvest takes place between February and April), temperatures are consistently higher than in Europe, which is particularly beneficial for red wines. The tannins in the wines mostly turn out softer and riper. The climatic conditions are not subject to the same fluctuations as in Europe, which makes the differences in the vintages less pronounced.
Automation methods such as mechanical grape harvesting and even pruning, as well as the term precision viticulture, were developed in the USA. The geographical origin does not have the same meaning as in Europe. Wines are produced more in a varietal and fruit-driven manner. In the New World, the toast aroma (wood clay) through barrique maturation is often attributed great importance. An essential difference also exists in the fermentation, the temperatures are often much lower in the New World. The grape varieties have become more and more similar in the last decades and refinement has also become standard. See also under Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and Tropics, as well as Wine Production Quantities.