Is there a difference between Earth's two hemispheres when it comes to wine? We decided to find out. We tapped into the wisdom of five wine experts.

The Experts:

Name: Tim Atkin,MW Title: Wine writer Twitter: @Timatkin Web: www.timatkin.com/ Bio: Tim Atkin, MW, is a Master of Wine, one of Britain's leading wine writers, and a TV presenter on BBC One's “Saturday Kitchen." He is also the wine correspondent of The Observer, Wine Editor at Large of OLN, and contributor to many publications such as Wine & Spirit, Woman and Home, The World of Fine Wine, and The Economist's Intelligent Life, or Country House.

Name: John Brunton Title: Wine observer and writer for The Guardian Twitter: @thewinetattoo Web: www.thewinetattoo.com Bio: John Brunton is a British journalist, author and photographer based in Paris, France and Venice, Italy. He travels widely around the world producing articles for the UK national daily newspaper The Guardian and other international newspapers and magazines. John is also the author of the Italy, France and South Africa sections of the newly released Lonely Planet book dedicated to world wine regions: Wine Trails.

Name: Jamie Goode Title: Wine journalist, book author Twitter: @jamiegoode Web: www.wineanorak.com Bio: Jamie Goode is a London-based wine journalist, author and founder of the Wineanorak.com blog. With a Ph.D in plant biology, Goode is a wine columnist with The Sunday Express, a UK national newspaper; author of the book Wine Science, and a contributor to a range of publications including The World of Fine Wine, Wine Business International, Drinks International, and The Drinks Business.

Name: Charlie Arturaola Title: Wine consultant and wine insurance expert, speaker, entertainer Twitter: @charliewines Web: www.charlieswines.com Bio: Charlie Arturaola has dedicated his life's work to serving, informing, educating, and entertaining people around the world about wine, becoming an internationally renowned sommelier and acclaimed Argentine wine expert. Arturaola has starred in two movies about wine: "The Ways of Wine," a docu-drama, and "The Duel of Wine" which premiered this fall at the Montreal Film Fest. He is fluent in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Name: Drew Lambert Title: Wine writer at The Wine Wankers Twitter: @winewankers Web: www.thewinewankers.com.au Bio: Drew Lambert lives in Sydney, Australia, and has been a wine writer for almost 20 years. His sole aim is to make learning about wine fun and easy. As one half of the social media outlet The Wine Wankers, Drew has found his spiritual home. The group loves taking the pretension out of the wine industry, delivering real reviews without the wankery! In 2016 he will move to Sweden, where he looks forward to drowning in Old World wines.

The Questions and Answers:

Q1: The Southern Hemisphere is overall cooler and receives more UV radiation than the Northern Hemisphere. Do you think this has a general impact on the wines produced in each hemisphere?

Drew We're from Australia, so our most famous wine regions generally steer toward the warmer side of the spectrum (Barossa, Coonawarra, McLaren Vale, etc.). While we do have cooler regions as well (Tasmania, Orange, Yarra Valley, Adelaide Hills), sunshine is generally always in abundance. As a result, our wines never have an issue of ripening. It really comes down to viticultural practices, ensuring the grapes grow evenly and the flavors are true representations of the varietal character.

John Climate is obviously one of the most important elements influencing vine cultivation, and cooler temperatures are going to make a significant difference. As for the effect of UV radiation, I would say there is still a lot of work to be done to determine just how this can affect the grape. More important than either is the element of increased global warming, which is affecting both the hemispheres, though perhaps for the moment with more impact in the Northern Hemisphere.

Q2: Sauvignon Blanc has become very popular with winegrowers of the Southern Hemisphere, with huge plantings over the past 10 to 15 years not only in New Zealand, but also in Chile, Australia, Argentina and South Africa. What do you think this is related to: climate/terroir, fashion, markets?

Tim Mostly fashion and the Cloudy Bay effect. Sauvignon didn't appear on labels in France until the mid-1980s, if not later. Sauvignon is easy to pronounce, recognize and drink. It's a good rather than great variety, except in a handful of places, most of which are in the Loire Valley on limestone soils.

Jamie I think the wines are commercially very successful, and this has driven further plantings. It's that simple. Also, Sauvignon is much more popular globally than it used to be. Who knows, maybe Assyrtiko will become the new Sav Blanc. I think the Greeks would love that!

Q3: Have you noted any distinct flavor profile between Southern and Northern Hemisphere wines with any other grape varieties they have in common, e.g. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Riesling?

John You can taste some great Pinot Noirs in the Southern Hemisphere today, but at the end of the day, nothing compares to a Pinot Noir from Burgundy. I find that Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the varieties that adapt best to both hemispheres, while Syrah/Shiraz is perhaps the grape where the Southern Hemisphere can achieve the best expression.

Jamie Some varieties travel better than others. Some varieties have a stronger varietal imprint that seems to trump terroir and climate differences: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc would be great examples of this. Pinot is particular and seems sensitive to the terroir. I'm a huge fan of New Zealand Pinot, but it's very different from red Burgundy, and that's not always a bad thing. Riesling is quite sensitive, too: it isn't easy to confuse German Riesling or Alsace Riesling with examples from Australia or New Zealand. Southern Hemisphere interpretations of Italian red grape varieties are almost always disastrous, and I'm not sure why.

Tim Very hard to generalize and depends on soil, climate and winemaking techniques. Chardonnay is a very good case in point. Twenty years ago, Burgundian and New World Chardonnays (I'd include California and even Oregon in this) were easy to tell apart. That's not true any more. The same thing applies, to a lesser extent, for Pinot, Cabernet and Syrah. I think Riesling is probably the easiest to tell apart, although I don't guarantee I could do it in a blind tasting.

Charlie There is a distinctive difference; soils matter! We all know Pinot Noir, or Chardonnay or Cabernet have distinct flavors if planted in a valley floor or at high-altitude vineyards as in the Andes or the slopes of the Aconcagua.

Q4: Southern Hemisphere wine is harvested earlier in the year. What are the pros/cons of this?



John I really don't see any big advantage or disadvantage. Today, with wine being produced virtually all over the world, there is a harvest going on in pretty much every month of the year.

Jamie For seasonal styles this can be a big advantage if you can get your wine to export markets at the right time. Often people seek out the latest, freshest vintage, and so timing of harvest can work for you or against you.

Drew Being first to market doesn't have any advantages, if you ask me. In fact I know some people who actually seek out reds that are from the older vintage if they have the choice of two -- even though there's only six months' difference between the two.

Q5: How are wines marketed differently between the northern and southern markets?

Drew Rather than look at southern and northern markets, I like to think Old World and New World wines and how they market themselves. Social media and its use as a promotional vehicle explains the differences perfectly. On a recent trip through Germany and France, I was surprised to find hardly any wineries had a social media presence. Wineries in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and even the UK all have great social media presences. They realize how important it is to promote their brands. And it doesn't have to cost a cent! A winemaker documenting his or her life on Instagram and re-posting these stories to the company's Facebook page is all that is needed. It's a great way to paint the picture of life behind the label.

Tim Too broad a question, although I think the Aussies were the first people to realize that it was a good idea to listen to consumers rather than just giving them what you wanted to make. The Southern Hemisphere is generally better at selling its wines, but some regions (and wineries) are better than others. Champagne hasn't done such a bad job of selling its wines at high prices and persuading everyone that its sparkling wines are a “luxury product."

John The question depends on where the wines are marketed. Southern wines marketed in the Northern Hemisphere tend to aim for large-scale distribution, with price more important than quality. French and Italian wines have always been able to market themselves overseas on the quality, even luxury level -- be it Champagne, Burgundy, Chateauneuf-du-Pape or Sauternes.

Charlie I don't think that the hemisphere is what determines the marketing. Old World wines tend to be more traditionally marketed than New World wines, in part because generations of a wine-producing family tend to stick to more traditional packaging and typically evolve slowly to a more modern style. The large corporations that are buying wineries today have large marketing departments that are well funded, enabling them to try new marketing strategies more easily. Adding a person to work only on social media is a luxury that smaller wineries simply can't afford. Social media changes constantly and keeping up with the new forums/apps like Mobli, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Pinterest, Snapchat and Instagram is a full-time job -- and then there's the content creation. New World regions tend to be less steeped in tradition. As an example, more than 66 percent of the wineries in Argentina engage in some form of social media.

Q6: Southern Hemisphere wines are much perceived as "New World." Does this come with any consumer expectations?

Jamie You need to segment consumers. For the non-informed consumer, New World is a big plus because the wines are seen as friendly, fun, approachable and are invariably fruit- driven and tasty. For the informed consumer -- someone who loves wines and drinks the classics -- New World is usually a negative. Generally speaking, consumers expect New World wines to be more approachable and fruit-driven.

Drew Old World wines do have an air of being elitist and unapproachable, especially for people who live in New World markets and aren't wine savvy. From an Australia/New Zealand perspective, apart from being more expensive to buy, most people who aren't wine savvy wouldn't have a clue what these wines would taste like, so they prefer to stick with what they know. They have no clue that a white 'Bourgogne' is actually a Chardonnay; if that were made more clear, they may actually give it a go. On top of that, our taste buds have been conditioned to having more fruity, flavorful wines. When they taste Old World wines in comparison, and without the aid of food, they seem either too acidic, or lacking in fruit. It's only when they have mastered New World wines and they start learning more about wine do they start to feel more adventurous and start seeking out something new to try.

Tim I'm not sure the terms mean much to most consumers. Is China New World? What about Lebanon? I think people tend to buy wines based on labels, image, recommendations (by friends, peer groups or experts), country of origin and (most often of all) price and occasion. I don't think they think, “Right, I must buy a New World wine this evening."

John For a long time “New World" came with a whole host of consumer expectations, not often positive. But I think as more and more people get to taste different wines from around the world they succeed in making their own judgments without being influenced by preconceptions. The only problem, speaking as someone living in France and Italy, is that there is still too much chauvinism here when it comes not just to New World wines but any other wines made from outside the national borders. In France it is difficult to find a selection of good Italian wines, and vice versa in Italy. When it comes to New World wines the situation is even worse, as there simply is very little on offer to the general consumer -- and even less that is of a high quality. In France and Italy you may find the odd bottle of Australian, Argentine, even U.S. wine -- for South Africa, no chance, with New Zealand hardly better off, unless you're talking about a high-end wine shop or Michelin-starred restaurant. Even in the latter cases, the majority are buying through the same middlemen and rarely directly from the producer. Interestingly, the situation is the opposite in Britain, which has a great choice of Northern and Southern Hemisphere wines.

Charlie Mexico has made wines for more than 450 years; is that considered New World? We are beyond that! The average consumer is looking for a price point, for a snappy package and the right grape. His expectation is to buy a good bottle of wine at the right price. I believe that thanks to technology we are exploring new horizons. It is up to us to evangelize in new and exciting ways. We are changing. Look at the wine schools all over the world! We are implementing new ways to educate young palates: cross branding, social media, lifestyle advertising. Consumers are more interested in the grape than the geography. In other words, they are more interested in buying a Pinot Noir regardless of where it comes from. There are still romantics that still swoon over great CRU wines, but they are a small percentage of the market.