Hot summer in France - good year for wine???
Sep 20th, 2003, 10:57 PM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,319
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi
there are two ideas circulating :
1) small volumes, but concentrated grape juice will be good
2)a late spring concentrated the growing season preventing some of the character from developing which may result in bland wines
It also depends on the location & variety
Here in Languedoc, the picking is pretty well finished, and the general verdict is .......... it'll be a very good year
Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com
there are two ideas circulating :
1) small volumes, but concentrated grape juice will be good
2)a late spring concentrated the growing season preventing some of the character from developing which may result in bland wines
It also depends on the location & variety
Here in Languedoc, the picking is pretty well finished, and the general verdict is .......... it'll be a very good year
Peter
http://tlp.netfirms.com
Sep 21st, 2003, 11:56 AM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 402
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hi, Borealis. I recently saw a news story about Rhine-Pfalz wines this year. The hot weather is supposed to produce fantastic wines (and it did rain a lot early in the summer) but as mentioned by mpprh, there will be less of it and therefore more costly. I suspect the same is true of French wines. Hope so, I'm going to stock up on both French and German wines.
Sep 28th, 2003, 11:47 AM
#5
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,642
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
There was an excellent, lengthy analysis of this year's summer weather and its possible effects on wines in a recent issue of the Financial Times. A panel of international wine experts stressed the imporants of remembering to separate the reality from all the hype and hope.
Sugar content *is* higher this year. But the experts warn that is not necessarily a guarantee of a good vintage. Some grapes had a high sugar content because they were already starting to dessicate. (Raisins are sweet, but they don't make good wine.)Several experts also worried that the grapes were smaller and there would be a higher percentage of skins in the mix, which could lead to roughness.
The experts concluded that this *could* be an excellent year, but it's not assured by any means.
Sugar content *is* higher this year. But the experts warn that is not necessarily a guarantee of a good vintage. Some grapes had a high sugar content because they were already starting to dessicate. (Raisins are sweet, but they don't make good wine.)Several experts also worried that the grapes were smaller and there would be a higher percentage of skins in the mix, which could lead to roughness.
The experts concluded that this *could* be an excellent year, but it's not assured by any means.
Sep 28th, 2003, 11:48 AM
#7
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,407
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
On BBC a few weeks ago, there was a news story about how this year's extremely hot summer has been the best possible news for wine-producing countries. So the answer to your question is YES, apparently 2003 will be a fantastic year for wine!!
