2015 is lining up to be a great year to be born in. If your mum and dad are so inclined as to buy a nice bottle of wine to have with you on your 18th, or your wedding day, or whatever, you could be in for a treat. That cast, for me, will include at least one nephew and another “bump” due before year end!
Obviously with my work for 20h33 I’m always keeping a keen eye on reports coming out Bordeaux. But spending time with the winegrowers in Piemonte, and also reading blogs and articles from around the Med and Atlantic coast, it seems that most of Europe is expecting a top vintage!
So what do you need to make it a great vintage? Remember that vines are just a plant like any other. To grow in the way vinegrowers want, they need a good mixture of sun, warmth, water, and nutrients at the right times throughout the year. As far as the nutrients go, that’s all about the soils you plant the vines on, but the amount and timing of the others are in the lap of the gods!
Does 2015 fit the bill? Well yes it does…so far! It was a warm spring, so the vines “woke up” at the right time. It been hot and sunny most of the summer, so the grapes are ripe, and evenly ripe.
But most importantly, to turn a good vintage into a very good vintage, it’s also cooling down into harvest time. Pockets of rain are clearing the air and cooling the grapes for a couple of days, and then the sun arrives to get rid of the mist and moisture that threatens fungus.
Harvest has already started in some places. The yield is down, so there will be less wine about, but what there has every chance of being spectacular.
Here’s hoping!
Cheers
Mike
