Traditionally, most Old World wines are named for their place: Bordeaux, Champagne, Rioja, etc. But today's wine market is heavily tilted toward grape names, like Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, and the reason is easy to understand: Buying a 2005 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance, is for most of us a much simpler exercise than buying a 2005 Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte from the Pessac-Leognan subregion of Bordeaux.


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