Latest news with #grapes
Irish Times
5 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
Ten things you need to know about wine
Wine is made by fermenting freshly gathered grapes. It can be red, white, rosé, sparkling or fortified. There are no rights and wrongs. Nobody insists that you like carrots; it's the same with wine. You like what you like . Price is not always an indicator of quality. But if you spend €10-€20 on a bottle, it will probably taste a lot better. Good glasses make a difference. Large tulip-shaped glasses make wine taste better. Temperature matters. Serve a white wine too cold and you lose flavour (about 10 degrees is good). Warm red wine can seem soupy and alcoholic (aim for 18 degrees, cooler than most house temperatures). Learning about wine should be fun and not feel like an exam. Work out what you like and what you don't, and take it from there. Start by trying wines made from the most popular grape varieties and the best-known wine regions. That will give you a good idea of what you like and what you don't. Taking a few notes is a good idea. Matching food and wine can make both taste better, but don't get hung up about it. Not all wine improves with age. Most wine is ready to drink the day you buy it. Wines with screw caps are not inferior. Sometimes they are better than wines with corks.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Climate change: How a warming planet could affect the taste of B.C. wine
Future sommeliers may have something very different on the nose, as climate change alters the taste of wine in regions around the world. A global study led by UBC researchers, and published this week in the journal PLOS Climate, found that temperatures during the grape-growing season have increased across the world's major wine regions — including B.C. — and that the heat is changing the taste of wine. For the study, researchers analyzed temperatures over the growing seasons in wine regions on five continents and studied 500 varieties of grapes. They studied the temperatures during dormancy, budding, and during harvest. The climate data will eventually allow scientists to recommend which varieties of wine grape are best suited to the changing climate in different regions, including those with unique climate challenges such as intense heat waves, drought and wildfire smoke. 'We want to be able to say to growers, OK, there's 1,000 varieties out there. Here are some recommendations on which ones to consider,' said Elizabeth Wolkovich, senior author of the study and an associate professor at UBC's faculty of forestry. On average, the regions have warmed by the equivalent of almost 100 extra growing degree-days, a measure of the cumulative heat that vines are exposed to, according to the study. Impacts of a hotter climate include lower grape yields, heat damage to berries and vegetation, and an industry that is rapidly working to adapt, the study says. Speaking Friday from Zurich, where she is working with colleagues who contributed to the global study, Wolkovich said this heat can affect harvest times and grape ripening, which changes the taste of the wine. 'Most of the wine you drink from Europe and North America is already a different flavour profile due to climate change than you drank 30 or 40 years ago. The biggest obvious change is that the grapes are more sugar rich, and that means they are also higher in alcohol,' she said. As the weather gets warmer, the grapes develop faster. For instance, she said the grapes are ripening in parts of France in late August instead of September. 'When they ripen in late August, and are exposed to hotter temperatures, the grapes build up sugar faster. The grapes you harvest have higher sugar acid ratios, so the balance in the wine is different.' The acidity, which gives the wine its zest, declines in warmer weather while pigments in wine called anthocyanins, which give the wine its colour, break down. Tannins may not develop if the grapes are plucked too early to compensate for the heat. 'I would say it would taste a little bit more like jam, or what you would call like a fruitier wine, and it would maybe be generally a little darker, less light in the flavour profile, and, on average, a little bit less complex for a red wine,' she said, but emphasized that expert winemakers are skilled at compensating for this change. Around the world, scorching heat, wildfires and other climate-related disasters have already decimated crops, including here in B.C. The province's wine industry is still recovering after two years of climate-related crop losses in the southern Interior. Record-breaking heat, wildfires and smoke tainted grapes, while a destructive cold snap in 2023 and 2024 caused significant crop loss across the province. Varieties of grape most affected in B.C. were Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, with projected losses of more than 65 per cent, according to a report last year from Wine Growers B.C. Wolkovich said there are hundreds of varieties in Spain, Italy and Greece 'that you've probably never heard of' that could work well at some point for B.C. growers as the heat intensifies. One example is Xinomavro, a wine grape that tolerates the dry heat of Greece. The difference is Mediterranean regions like Greece have longer growing seasons than B.C. so the trick is to find varieties that have a shorter ripening time but are also heat-resistant. On that note, Wolkovich also said there are varieties from the mountainous regions of Spain that B.C. growers haven't tried that could work well as the temperatures increase. 'So regions in Spain that are at higher elevations have shorter growing seasons, but they also are hot — the way the Okanagan is hot. And I know that certain vineyards have looked into them and would love to try them.' She said the problem isn't that the consumer won't want to drink these hardier varieties, but that there are hurdles in Canada to importing the rootstock. Kathy Malone, chair of the B.C. Wine Grape Council research and development committee, said winemakers are wary of testing new varieties when it takes years for the grapes to grow and mature in flavour. Malone, who is also a winemaker at Hillside Winery and Bistro in Naramata, said there are efforts underway to get experimental plots going in B.C. 'You could have very small plots of varieties that no one's ever heard of and make a small amount of wine, but then you could blend that into another wine.' She said it's very difficult for B.C. winemakers to make decisions about new varieties that will be cold-resistant and that the focus should be on the warming climate and what varieties will survive intense heat. After last year's cold snap, Hillside will be planting the Malbec variety, which is less cold-hardy than Merlot but will do much better under the increasingly hotter Okanagan summers. 'I don't think there was much Malbec planted in the 80s and 90s, because it requires longer hang time and more heat. But now we're getting that heat more and more,' she said. 'The seasons are expected to be hotter and longer moving north. In some areas, like in Napa, it's a challenge because it's too hot and they have berries drying up on the vine.' For the study, scientists developed climate metrics for the world's wine regions that spanned the annual plant cycle of a calendar year. They found the biggest impact is in southern and western Europe, where the number of days over 35 C is the highest of all regions, with nearly five times as many extreme heat days compared with 1980. 'The temperature increases here (in B.C.) aren't as dramatic as in Europe, which is something that as a community, we're still trying to understand,' said Wolkovich. Growers are testing methods to adapt. Some are using shade cloth to protect vines from heat while others are planting new rootstocks and varieties. The study also looked at regions affected by wildfire smoke and how widespread fires in Australia led to technologies and approaches that could be used in California or in B.C. For example, some winemakers are now installing sensors in the vineyard to know when smoke is about to affect the grapes. ticrawford@ With files from The Canadian Press 'Clean slate' to reshape B.C. wine industry, after climate-related catastrophes Anthony Gismondi: Wineries step forward to fight climate change Anthony Gismondi: Assessing how deep freeze affected B.C. vineyards remains a work in progress
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Revealed: The popular wines most at risk from climate change - so, is your favourite variety in the firing line?
Whether it's a Pinot Noir from Burgundy or a Rosado from Rioja, Europe is home to some of the most popular wines in the world. But these delicious varieties could soon change forever - thanks to climate change. Experts have warned that wine grapes in France, Spain and Italy have seen the most significant increases in high temperatures during the growing season. And the result could mean wines become sweeter, more intense and even more alcoholic. The team, from the University of British Columbia, studied the phenology of wine grapes. This refers to how the different stages of growth and reproduction are affected by the environment over the course of a year. They used data from more than 500 grapevine varieties from around the world and looked at 10 different measures of climate. This included the lowest temperatures during dormancy and when buds emerge, heat extremes during the growing season, and temperature and rainfall during harvest. Analysis revealed that Europe has experienced the greatest shift since the 1970s, with the most significant increases in the number of hot days over 35°C (95°F) and the highest temperatures during the growing season. Some of the most popular wines currently grown in Europe include Pinot Noir and Sancerre from France, Rioja from Spain and Brunello di Montalcino in Italy. Pinot Blanc is a white wine grape that is also widely grown across Europe, particularly in France, Italy, Germany and Austria. Studies have shown that warmer temperatures are shifting the regions suitable for winegrowing toward the poles. Meanwhile traditional regions are yielding grapes that ripen faster and have higher sugar levels, which alters the taste of wine. This could make wine taste sweeter and have a higher alcohol content, as sugar is converted to alcohol during the fermentation process. The acidity of wine also declines in warmer climates, which means the wine could taste less fresh and have less 'zest'. Meanwhile pigments in wine called anthocyanins – which are responsible for the red and purple colours - break down under heat. Tannins, which are important for how wine feels in the mouth, may not develop enough if grapes are harvested early to curb rising sugar levels. Writing in the journal Plos Climate the researchers said: 'Metrics of heat extremes for regions in Western/Southern Europe and in Eastern Europe showed by far the largest increases and suggest a new world of European winegrowing that has few parallels to European winegrowing of 40-50 years before. 'Europe's northern latitudinal location positions it for more extreme warming overall as northern latitudes warm the most. 'Our analyses highlight that Europe has experienced the most severe shift in summer heat – with days above 35°C and maximum temperatures most years now far outside of what was experienced before significant warming. 'Impacts of this new, hotter climate include lower grape yields, heat damage to berries and vegetation, and an industry that is rapidly working to adapt.' Lead author Elizabeth Wolkovich said: 'I was very surprised by the level of warming across the globe, but especially in Europe, where our results show clearly just how much the growing season has warmed with human-caused climate change. 'As someone who has visited Europe for over 15 years, I have witnessed the increasing heat waves, but seeing the data -- and how much change growers are facing -- was sobering and even higher than I expected.' WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO TASTE WINE PROPERLY? When it comes to drinking wine, there a few things that can make all the difference. Australian wine-connoisseur Caitlyn Rees offers how to taste wines like an expert Step 1: See Before you even down that first sip, you first need to take a look at the wine in your glass. 'See refers to the appearance of the wine. This is where you can check the clarity, intensity and colour. 'If the wine is hazy it could be faulty but more likely unfiltered.' Step 2: Swirl You've probably seen wine drinkers swirl the wine in their glass before taking a sip. The reason is to allowed the wine to 'open up' and reveal the maximum amount of aroma, flavour and intensity. 'Swirling releases the aroma particles that make the next step, smell, more helpful.' Step 3: Smell Smelling wine serves two purposes. It helps you detect scents and flavours as well as providing a way to check for faults. Once you've taken in the full aroma of the wine, now it's time to sip. Unless the wine you are tasting has gone bad, the final step in the process of wine tasting is to swallow. The trick though isn't to gulp it down.
Forbes
19-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
The Italian Winemaker Who Stops The Time With His Artwork—And Science
Emanuele Marchesini in his atelier A 'time capsule' is a container that holds items, photos or documents to preserve a snapshot of the present for future generations. A 'piece of time' that projects itself into the future and will one day be discovered. What if this time capsule contained a fresh fruit, such as a grape, but it was 100 years old? In 2125, winemakers would be delighted to learn about the 2025 vintage and the challenges their far-away colleagues faced. Emanuele Marchesini is a young Italian winemaker who is dedicated to preserving fresh grapes for the sake of science and art. He creates stunning sculptures with fresh grapes using a special combination of temperature, humidity, and resin that 'freezes' the fruit as it is. The way he stops the time and the natural decay of the grapes is the kind of sculpture he's getting famous for. Such items can last intact for years, maybe even decades. Who knows? This is a completely new approach to both the sculpture and the winemaking. In the near future, people may be able to examine for evidence of the characteristics of a vintage from a long time ago. Marchesini refers to these sculptures as "monoliths" and they can be found in the Montresor's Wine Museum on the outskirts of Verona. After graduating in enology from the University of Verona, Emanuele spent many years working for a local wine cooperative. After that, he left to work in a chemical analysis laboratory, where he began experimenting with mixing chemistry and natural raw materials, something he is still doing. "When I approach my artworks, I think like a winemaker,' he explains. 'I find pleasure in using natural materials such as vine leaves, grape seeds, and grape skins because I am deeply familiar with them. Making wine is something I love, but have you ever thought about the work that precedes it? Well, before bunches of fermented grapes become a wine, there is the grape processing. And no one sees it.' Emanuele Marchesini transforms the waste from the winemaking process into a new form of art. A "monolith" of Nosiola grape partially dried His biggest artwork so far is 'Apollineo & Dionisiac,' a bas-relief that measures 10 by 3 meters and depicts a man in a vortex of grape seeds, wooden vines, and dry leaves. The impressive figure seems to emerge from the wall of the conference room at Montresor Wine Shop. In another room of Montresor's Wine Museum, there are the 'monoliths' of Corvina, Corvinone, and Rondinella, the grapes used to make Amarone della Valpolicella. The grapes are preserved in their resin cases. Recently, Emanuele successfully made other 'monoliths' using the white Nosiola grape, a local variety from the Trentino region. 'I tried to 'freeze' also Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, but it didn't work either," he admits. "Upon contact with the resin, the clusters exploded. The truth is, no formula fits every grape, as there are too many different variables to consider. You have to learn by trial and error. Next vintage I'll try it again.' Science cannot stop, nor can art.
Forbes
19-05-2025
- General
- Forbes
Why Pinot Noir Is Considered The 'Heartbreak Grape'—And Why It's Still Worth It
"A vineyard in Napa Valley, Califronia." If you've ever heard a winemaker call Pinot Noir the 'heartbreak grape,' you might assume it's because they had one too many glasses and got emotional. And honestly? You wouldn't be completely wrong. Pinot Noir is notoriously difficult to grow, a little dramatic when it comes to weather, and frustratingly unpredictable even for the best farmers and winemakers. But when everything goes right, it produces some of the most elegant, unforgettable wines in the world. It's a high-risk, high-reward situation—and somehow, Pinot keeps us all coming back for more. Here's why Pinot Noir has earned its dramatic nickname—and why we're still absolutely obsessed with it. Bunches of various grapes ready to be harvested Pinot Noir is a thin-skinned grape, which means it's sensitive. (Think: "can't leave the house without SPF 50" levels of sensitive.) It thrives only in very specific climates—usually cooler regions like Burgundy, Oregon's Willamette Valley, and coastal pockets of California. Too hot? The grapes get overripe and lose their delicate flavors. Too cold? They might not ripen at all. Too rainy, windy, sunny, foggy, dry? Pinot's ready to throw a tantrum. Compared to hearty, flexible grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot is the fussy artist in a world of engineers. It needs constant care and attention, and even then, nature can still ruin the party. Harvesting grapes in grape yard Even after you manage to grow healthy Pinot grapes (congratulations, by the way), the heartbreak isn't over. In the winery, Pinot Noir demands a delicate touch. It's prone to oxidation, meaning it can spoil easily if you're not careful. It doesn't always respond predictably to fermentation. And because it's so subtle, any misstep—like a heavy oak treatment or too much handling—can completely overpower its beautiful, fragile flavors. Basically, Pinot Noir is the diva who shows up with a 12-page rider but still gives the best performance of the night if you meet every demand exactly. Pinot Because it's so difficult to grow and make, good Pinot Noir isn't cheap. You can absolutely find bottles under $20 (especially from places like Chile or California's Central Coast), but truly stunning Pinot tends to be pricey. Burgundy Pinot, for example, can command eye-watering prices even for entry-level bottles—and let's not even get into the collector stuff. But Pinot lovers argue that it's worth it because when it's great, it's unforgettable. It's not just wine; it's an experience. In the region of Casablanca in Chile, wine tasting in biodynamics. Two hands clash their glass for a ... More sharing of moment pleasure. So why do winemakers and drinkers put up with all this heartbreak? Because when Pinot Noir shines, it's magic. The best Pinot Noir delivers an elegance and complexity that few other grapes can match. It balances bright red fruit (think cherries, raspberries, cranberries) with earthy notes like forest floor, mushrooms, and spice. It's light in body but deep in flavor, silky without being heavy. It's a wine that can be delicate and powerful at the same time, whispering instead of shouting—but somehow leaving the loudest impression. As one Burgundy producer famously said, 'When Pinot Noir is good, you can't not fall in love.' Ready to go pick up a bottle? Here are a few great ones to get you started: Joseph Drouhin Bourgogne Rouge (France, Burgundy) If you want to taste the heart of Burgundy without blowing your budget, this is a smart pick. It's fresh and delicate, with flavors of tart cherry, wild strawberries, and an earthy, almost mushroomy undertone that gives it a rustic French charm. Very light on its feet, and very easy to love. Belle Glos 'Meiomi' Pinot Noir (California) This is the Pinot that's unapologetically rich and ripe. Expect waves of dark berries, like blackberry jam and black cherry, with a soft, sweet finish laced with vanilla and mocha. It's lush, smooth, and a real crowd-pleaser—think of it as Pinot Noir dressed up for a party. Cristom 'Mt. Jefferson Cuvée' Pinot Noir (Oregon, Willamette Valley) Cristom's Mt. Jefferson is a beautiful mix of fruit and forest. It starts with vibrant red berries—think cranberry and raspberry—then moves into more savory, earthy territory with notes of forest floor, spice, and a whisper of smoky oak. Elegant, balanced, and just serious enough to impress. Cono Sur Bicicleta Pinot Noir (Chile) Proof that good Pinot doesn't have to be expensive, this Chilean bottle is light, bright, and refreshing. It's packed with fresh strawberry and cherry flavors, a little green herb on the nose, and a crisp, clean finish. Perfect for casual sipping or stocking up for parties.
