Who'd be a Winemaker?

I was recently visiting wine makers in Burgundy and Beaujolais, of which more to come next month. I had the opportunity to discuss the vintage with several winemakers and see for myself the last of the grapes in the vineyards and arriving at the wineries.

It is clear that 2010 is a challenging year in the region. There is some rot within the bunches and selection of the grapes as they enter the wineries at the sortation tables will be key this year. All is not lost however as the berries are quite small showing good concentration of flavour. So whilst volume will be lower, it is still possible to make good quality wine.

One winemaker whom I rate very highly was not peturbed as he said this year it will be clear who the best winemakers are, whereas in a year with perfect weather almost all producers will make good wine.

Another winemaker was discussing the challenges of organic production in the region. They still need to spray the vines with copper and sulphur to guard against rot and mildew, but as these are their only weapons, they need to spray each time it rains. He remarked that it always seemed to rain on a Sunday this year to ruin his day off.

Even in the difficult years it is the work in the vineyard that enables good wines to be produced. You can't make good wine without good grapes ( although it's perfectly possible to turn good grapes into poor wine). This is why we try to get to know who the most concientous winemakers are and we have confidence in them to produce the best wine from the climatic conditions of the year. Let's hope are faith is rewarded in the 2010 vintage.