People often assume that, in due course, wine writers like myself might like to exchange the hurly-burly of the laptop for the deep peace of a vineyard in the sun. I can only presume those people have never tried to grow so much as a tomato plant in a greenhouse.
Grapes make the best wine when they are grown in a marginal climate, which makes vines an especially difficult crop to manage.
Over the past few years, volatile climate patterns and the mounting number of extreme weather events have combined to make the life of a vigneron even more stressful. It’s now harvest time in Europe and this year is no exception: last month the French agriculture ministry forecast that the French wine crop could be as much as 16 per cent down.
Elsewhere in Europe there have also been challenges. In Greece in July, wildfires tore through the wine region of Nemea, where searing temperatures the previous year had caused some grapes to wither on the vine. In Spain, vineyards in the north-west regions of Bierzo and Valdeorras were pelted with golf-ball-sized hailstones in June, causing damage that is expected to affect the 2025 as well as the 2024 harvest.
Moving north brings other risks. In Germany, the warmest March on record encouraged vines to develop early, but that was followed by a severe cold snap that froze the new shoots, a weather pattern that is also, increasingly, a risk for English growers.
Problems in France this year have included heavy rain that disturbed fruit set, as well as virulent attacks of mildew. As one wine producer facing a devastated crop said to me, ‘at least we’ll save money on the pickers’. I’m not sure I could manage that level of phlegmatism.
Options for combatting these difficult conditions are limited but one that is being increasingly explored is the use of hybrid grape varieties – crossings of two different vitis species. Hybrids can offer useful characteristics such as disease- and cold-resistance. They are extensively planted in New York State, where winters are severe, and the hybrid variety seyval blanc was much-planted in the UK in the 20th century, before the country switched to ripen chardonnay and pinot noir.
Traditionally, hybrids have not been much loved for the flavours they bring to wine, but views are changing and there are some high-profile regions leading the way. In Champagne, there are new plantings of the fungus-resistant hybrid voltis. Drappier is one house that is experimenting with voltis but it will be some years before it is ready to release wine with it in the blend.
Last month, Tesco launched a new wine made using the hybrid floreal. It says it is resistant to downy and powdery mildew, which ‘reduces the need for vine treatments by 80-90 per cent, decreasing tractor use and CO2 emissions’. Citrussy and light, Finest Floreal 2023, France (11%, Tesco, £8), is pretty good. A little reminiscent of sauvignon blanc, though less vivid.
Finest Floreal 2023, France,(11%, Tesco, £8)
I’m less sure about Aldi’s hybrid white, Specially Selected The Puzzle Souvignier Gris Muscaris 2023, France (13%, Aldi, £8.99), which is an odd mix of ripe pears, spice and freesia.
The Puzzle Souvignier Gris Muscaris 2023, France (13%, Aldi, £8.99)
Meanwhile this week’s bottles are from those persistent souls who, despite the challenges, still manage to produce organic wine.
Try these...
M&S Expressions Organic Perricone 2022, Sicily, Italy
13.5%, M&S, Ocado, £9
An unusual Italian red wine, this is lightish-bodied, smooth and open, with flavours of red cherry and orange peel. Try it chilled.
Altano Organic Douro Red 2021, Portugal
13.5%, Waitrose, £12.99, down to £9.99 until 24 September
A classic autumn warmer of a red, made from a mix of grapes and showing gorgeous dried herb notes.
Virgen Organic Malbec 2022, Argentina
14%, Vintage Roots, £13.95
A juicy, unoaked malbec that tastes of ripe black cherries and is made without adding sulphur.
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