by Albert Cilia-Vincenti

“Wine is to the parched mind of man what water is to the sun-drenched plain.  It releases the brakes of his self-consciousness and softens the hard-baked crust of dust so that the seeds below may send forth sweet flowers”

 

If climate and latitude alone determined ideal places for vine growth, life would be so much simpler for making great wine. Weather, however, is only one of many factors that determine wine quality and style. Old established European vineyards were not planted after close analysis of the weather or the soil. If they turned out to produce great wine, people tried to work out why. It’s been a long road of discovery, and we’re not at the end of it yet.

 

Winemakers have studied Burgundy’s Côte d’Or for years, but still don’t know precisely what it is about this little stretch of French vineyard that makes such marvellous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.  And if people can’t agree on that, it’s not surprising that they also can’t agree on what Côte d’Or attributes one should imitate to make great Pinot Noir elsewhere. Should you find somewhere with similar climate to Burgundy, or is that climate in fact a disadvantage?  If the latter is so, somewhere warmer and drier might be better. Should you try copying the soil and, if so, should you be looking at its structure, its mineral content, or what?

 

Soil is under intense study by winemakers worldwide, even in the New World where they used to be much more interested in climate. Climate is vital, but Australian winemakers are now saying that the greatest advances in quality will come from greater understanding of the soil.

 

Terroir  is still a poorly understood concept – it does not only mean ‘soil’, but includes its geology, climate, topology, its water-retaining ability, the amount of sun it receives, and the effect of man.  Both topsoil and subsoil are important, as is the mineral content. How fertile or infertile it is, and its depth and structure, affecting drainage, are also factors.  Altitude, steepness of slope and exposure to the sun all matter, as does the microclimate – climate particular to that vineyard. From the French point of view, it is the terroir that makes each vineyard different, and it underpins the Appellation Contrôlée system.  

 

Climate is given more attention by many winegrowers than to any other factor. Even the most dedicated terroiriste is likely to blame the weather rather than the terroir when his vines are hit by spring frost. Rain or high winds during flowering, drought in late summer halting ripening, summer rain encouraging rot on grapes, rain at harvest that dilutes the grape juice, hail at any time, are all climatic hazards to the grower. As far as quality is concerned, it is the last couple of months before the harvest that really matter. 

 

There is no absolute definition of cool, warm or hot climate for viticulture. A cool climate usually means one where only early-ripening grape varieties will ripen, such as Pinot Noir, Riesling, Chardonnay or Gewürztraminer. An intermediate climate will ripen later-ripening varieties like Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon and Syrah.  In warm climates you get very late-ripening grapes like Mourvèdre, Grenache and Touriga Nacional. Carneros in California, New Zealand’s South Island, Burgundy and Germany come under the cool climate heading.  Bordeaux, Tuscany, California’s Napa Valley, Chile’s Maipo and Australia’s Coonawarra are intermediate. On the other hand the south of France, Portugal’s Douro Valley, and Australia’s McLaren Vale are warm.  

 

 

Albert Cilia-Vincenti is a longstanding member of The Wine Society (1874) of UK and founding committee member of “Il-Qatra”, a 60-member blind-tasting wine club of 10 years standing – acvincenti@onvol.net