What Makes a Good Vintage Year?
Great Weather, Adequate Rain and Sunshine Make Great Wine
Jan 10, 2009
As climate change brings more erratic weather events winemakers will be challenged to make consistently good wines and consumers will notice more variation in their favourite wines.
To make good wine you need to have good grapes. Good wines are made in the vineyard, not in the winery.
What Can Go Wrong
There are a host of weather related issues that can occur in the vineyard. Although site and grape variety selection can minimize these problems Mother Nature is not always predictable.
Frosts in spring
As the vines come out of their winter slumber they put out new growth. These buds and shoots are quite tender and an unseasonal frost can kill them. The vine itself will survive and put out more buds, but in most cases the crop for the following autumn will be severely depleted or non-existent.
Drought
All plants need water. Grape vines are deep rooted and very resilient but prolonged drought, as experienced in South Eastern Australia over the past few years, can take its toll. Many vineyards are irrigated, either from a local source or as part of a larger irrigation scheme. In some vineyards lack of irrigation water has caused a drop in quality as well as quantity of the grapes and therefore the wines produced.
Too wet
Excessive rain or humidity during the growing season can cause another set of problems, mainly related to fungal diseases. These attack the leaves and the ripening berries on the vines. Viticulturalists can spray but this is expensive and against the philosophy of many vineyard managers who are striving for organic production. Rain at harvest time can also cause the ripe berries to split, generally with bad effects.
Hail and heatwaves
Mother Nature can also upset the vineyards by severe weather events. Hailstorms can damage the vines and in sever cases it can strip the ripening fruit from the vines or damage it to provide an entry point for disease. Extreme heat late in the season, such as was experienced in South Australia late in the 2008 vintage can also play havoc on the ripening grapes.
Bushfires (wildfires)
During the Australian summer bushfires can leave vineyards shrouded in smoke for days or weeks. Some of the smoke adheres to the grape skins and can impart a nasty taint in the wine. The problem is more noticeable in red wines where the juice is fermented on the skin, but whites can also be affected. In the 2004 and 2007 vintages in Australia, and in 2008 in parts of California smoke problems caused spoilage of some wines.
Overcropping
Even when seasonal conditions are very good there can be problems. Some varieties in some regions can produce very large crops. Unfortunately the wine quality is usually much lower when this happens.
Failure to ripen
In unseasonably cold years the grapes won't fully ripen and a poor vintage results with thin and acidic wines.
With all of these hazards it's a wonder we ever get good vintages. But vines are hardy plants and centuries of experience by grape growers and wine makers have taught them how to get the best from their crops. Selecting the best varieties for the local environment is important. In the New World vineyards this process is continuing as winemakers are experimenting with new red and white wine varieties.
Watch the 2009 vintage in Australia unfold as winemakers report on the progress of their wine from the grapevine to your tasting glass.
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