Q. Old World wines are known for their charm and history whereas New World wines are fast gaining reputation. Will this lead to some Old World wine makers emulating the newer counterparts or vice versa?

A. This is a timely question since I am writing this column from Singapore, where I have been working with Wine Australia Week and the Singapore Sun Festival to shed some light on the dynamic wine industry in Australia.

Of course it's natural for many people to compare Australian and other New World wines with those of the Old World (traditional Europe), but as time goes on, the distinction between the two is actually becoming harder to maintain.

Here are some potentially surprising facts. Australia has the oldest producing cabernet sauvignon vines in the world, being the Barossa vineyard known as Penfolds Block 42.

It has many shiraz vineyards whose vines date back more than 150 years, including the oldest single shiraz vineyard wine in the world: Langmeil's The Freedom, which was planted in 1847. Australia is the world's oldest continent, with the world's oldest soils for grape growing.

Over the last 200 years, its grape growers and winemakers have sought to explore different regions and sites, matching them with the world's most important varieties.

Australia has in abundance precisely the same set of empiricals as many of the most famous vineyards in wine's Old World, with the additional bonus of having older vines to express the uniqueness of its many vineyard sites.

Many of the best Australian wines are the way they are because of the same reasons that make many Old World wines great.

History on its own is not enough since there is nothing attractive about a history of bad wine. More important is winemaking attitude.

The success of Australian and other New World wines in many export markets has caused winemakers in a number of Old World countries to re-evaluate their approach.

It is now commonplace for wines to be made in France, Spain and Italy using techniques and equipment that have been developed in the New World, creating Old World wines of more freshness, fruit and vitality, with something of New World character.

Similarly, many New World makers have adopted 100 per cent Old World attitudes towards the growing and making of their wines.

While they are not trying to replicate Old World styles, they believe that these time-honed techniques will best reflect the terroir and character of their own vineyards.

The outcome is frequently wine of more restraint, integration, subtlety and savoury quality. Some of these wines can closely resemble their Old World counterparts; others are nowhere near. The differences between site, climate, soil and topography ultimately show through. But the differences between the taste of Old and New World wines is indeed blurring.

Today, winemakers can choose between entirely different winemaking philosophies, or a combination of the two.

Their wines continue to reflect their vineyards, their varieties, the techniques deployed and one other important factor: the mindset, ambitions and abilities of their growers and makers. All of which makes it unendingly interesting.

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