In Rioja, tempranillo reigns supreme with 80% of the vineyard area. But perhaps not for much longer. It is getting warmer and drier and that is where tempranillo shows its limitations. Garnacha (grenache in France),
The heatwave in France at the beginning of August was a bit of a problem for winegrowers. But the producers we have met so far this autumn (late September) have been satisfied with the quality
Are the rules and regulations of the French appellations keeping pace with climate change? At least Château Lafleur doesn’t think so, as from this vintage, 2025, it will leave the Pomerol appellation and sell its
Europe has been hit by an unusually high number of forest fires this summer. So far this year, there have been twice as many compared to the same time in 2024. In early August, violent
When you visit Champagne nowadays, the question of the acidity in the wines often comes up. It is generally accepted that a good quality sparkling wine should have a high acidity. But with warmer summers,
In the middle of March, warm temperatures hit France, meaning the growing season started early in the vineyards. In some places, the budding began as early as the third week of March (e.g. cabernet franc
The alcohol content in wine has been controversial for some time. We often hear people complain that the alcohol is too high and that it used to be better in the old days when it
Fires in wine regions cause damage to vineyards in different ways. The ripe grapes in vineyards near the fire can be damaged by smoke, which can affect the taste of the wine and, in the
The French company Sun’Agri, a pioneer in ”agrivoltaism”, has just come out with an exciting report. Agrivoltaism involves installing solar panels on top of agricultural crops. It has proven to be interesting also for vineyards.
The UK had a bumper year in 2023, producing between 20 and 22 million bottles of wine, 50% more than the previous record. The harvest yield was high (almost 10,000 kg/ha, approx. 65hl/ha), the bunches
Irrigation has always been strictly regulated in the European vineyards. But drought affects more and more wine vineyards, and the rules are loosened. It has been generally allowed in France for several years to irrigate
Perhaps this year, the growers in Roussillon in the southwest of France will have their lowest harvest yield ever. There has not been much rain this year, not even 200 mm. And last year was
Is the region of Roussillon in the south of France starting to look like a desert? Not far from it. In the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages Les Aspres, not far from Perpignan, they have had not
A long time ago, when I started doing wine tastings for groups, I noticed some strange perceptions among the participants about certain things. One was that white wines are not as serious as red, so
This year the harvest is very early in many places in France. At the beginning of August, some producers had already started in Languedoc-Roussillon. In Champagne, the first village to harvest was on August 20
It takes a lot of water to make a bottle of wine. Even if you do not irrigate your vineyard, you use water, mainly for cleaning during the entire production process. It is difficult to
In 2021, extremely high June temperatures were measured in Washington State, above 48 degrees C. The rest of the summer continued to be very hot, and 2021 is considered one of the warmest on record.
Say Andalusia and I’ll start thinking about olive trees. There are an estimated 70 million olive trees in Andalusia on just less than two million hectares. On a recent trip between Malaga and Cordoba, it
Institut rhodanien, a research institute in the Rhône valley, has carried out a comprehensive study of how the various maturation parameters of grenache have changed since 1969. These include changes in the acidity level and
New grape varieties are regularly approved in France. First, they are preliminarily approved for a few years and then they are entered in the official French grape vine catalogue. Recently, these 8 grapes were enrolled,
2021 has been a good year for the US wine industry, even great for some. Sales have, in some sales channels, recovered from the difficult 2020. This is one of the conclusions from the Silicon
Customers want to make sustainable choices, and therefore Systembolaget (the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly) will introduce its own sustainability label in 2022. This was announced by Ulf Sjödin, category manager at Systembolaget, during a digital
Climate change is having an impact on the global wine geography, says the French wine magazine Mon Viti. There are losers and winners, and one of the winners is Sweden. They take, as an example,
There is something called heroic viticulture. It is, for instance, vineyards on steep slopes, at high altitudes, on narrow terraces, on dry, windy islands. Here the wine world’s superheroes toil. The more difficult the terrain,
How noticeable is climate change in the vineyard? The consequences are already visible and are positive for the quality of the must, says the producer association Comité Champagne (CIVC). In Champagne, for the past 30
Wine producers in France and other parts of Europe were hit hard by several cold nights in April with temperatures far below zero. The warm temperatures earlier this spring had led to early budding in
During the webinar “Vinosphere Burgundy” at the end of February, researchers discussed various possibilities to tackle climate change. The question was: Will Burgundy be forced to abandon pinot noir and chardonnay? The reassuring message was
The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) was founded in 2019 by the Torres family in Spain, long-time environmentalists, and the Jackson Family Wines in California. The purpose of the association is to make the
Water is vital for the vine. It should come in reasonable quantities. Whether it then comes naturally from above in the form of rain or from an irrigation system does not matter for the wine’s
No, your Bordeaux wine will not soon be made from other grape varieties, as some headlines have implied. Last year, producers in Bordeaux approved a proposal to experiment with grape varieties that have never been
In Rioja, tempranillo reigns supreme with 80% of the vineyard area. But perhaps not for much longer. It is getting warmer and drier and that
The heatwave in France at the beginning of August was a bit of a problem for winegrowers. But the producers we have met so far
Are the rules and regulations of the French appellations keeping pace with climate change? At least Château Lafleur doesn’t think so, as from this vintage,
Europe has been hit by an unusually high number of forest fires this summer. So far this year, there have been twice as many compared
When you visit Champagne nowadays, the question of the acidity in the wines often comes up. It is generally accepted that a good quality sparkling
In the middle of March, warm temperatures hit France, meaning the growing season started early in the vineyards. In some places, the budding began as
The alcohol content in wine has been controversial for some time. We often hear people complain that the alcohol is too high and that it
Fires in wine regions cause damage to vineyards in different ways. The ripe grapes in vineyards near the fire can be damaged by smoke, which
The French company Sun’Agri, a pioneer in ”agrivoltaism”, has just come out with an exciting report. Agrivoltaism involves installing solar panels on top of agricultural
The UK had a bumper year in 2023, producing between 20 and 22 million bottles of wine, 50% more than the previous record. The harvest
Irrigation has always been strictly regulated in the European vineyards. But drought affects more and more wine vineyards, and the rules are loosened. It has
Perhaps this year, the growers in Roussillon in the southwest of France will have their lowest harvest yield ever. There has not been much rain
Is the region of Roussillon in the south of France starting to look like a desert? Not far from it. In the Côtes du Roussillon-Villages
A long time ago, when I started doing wine tastings for groups, I noticed some strange perceptions among the participants about certain things. One was
This year the harvest is very early in many places in France. At the beginning of August, some producers had already started in Languedoc-Roussillon. In
It takes a lot of water to make a bottle of wine. Even if you do not irrigate your vineyard, you use water, mainly for
In 2021, extremely high June temperatures were measured in Washington State, above 48 degrees C. The rest of the summer continued to be very hot,
Say Andalusia and I’ll start thinking about olive trees. There are an estimated 70 million olive trees in Andalusia on just less than two million
Institut rhodanien, a research institute in the Rhône valley, has carried out a comprehensive study of how the various maturation parameters of grenache have changed
New grape varieties are regularly approved in France. First, they are preliminarily approved for a few years and then they are entered in the official
2021 has been a good year for the US wine industry, even great for some. Sales have, in some sales channels, recovered from the difficult
Customers want to make sustainable choices, and therefore Systembolaget (the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly) will introduce its own sustainability label in 2022. This was announced
Climate change is having an impact on the global wine geography, says the French wine magazine Mon Viti. There are losers and winners, and one
There is something called heroic viticulture. It is, for instance, vineyards on steep slopes, at high altitudes, on narrow terraces, on dry, windy islands. Here
How noticeable is climate change in the vineyard? The consequences are already visible and are positive for the quality of the must, says the producer
Wine producers in France and other parts of Europe were hit hard by several cold nights in April with temperatures far below zero. The warm
During the webinar “Vinosphere Burgundy” at the end of February, researchers discussed various possibilities to tackle climate change. The question was: Will Burgundy be forced
The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) was founded in 2019 by the Torres family in Spain, long-time environmentalists, and the Jackson Family Wines in
Water is vital for the vine. It should come in reasonable quantities. Whether it then comes naturally from above in the form of rain or
No, your Bordeaux wine will not soon be made from other grape varieties, as some headlines have implied. Last year, producers in Bordeaux approved a
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