Drought or drown which is worse for the vineyards? Ask Oenologist Kenny Cabernet!
World renown lecturer, viticulturist and oenologist Kenny Cabernet just back from Australia explains how the drought down under is affecting their grapes, and how our record breaking rain is affecting ours! it ain’t grape! I mean great!!!
Last week we learned how the two extreme weather patterns impact the wine business.
How about all this rain? “Not good” says Kenny Cabernet. Too much rain will make the grape swell. The must is diluted and the all important ratio of skin to must is too great for red wines. The sugars and flavours can become compromised, less concentrated. Without the bathing of the sun on the grapes, they have little chance to become sweeter, to concentrate the extract. And we can’t forget about the possibility of various strains of mould affecting the grapes, having them rot from too much moisture. In heavy rains the skin can break leaving it prone to mould and infection. “If we don’t get a lot of warmth and sunshine for the balance of August and September the 08 vintage will be a tough one. The winemakers will have to focus on harvesting the best fruit.
Australia’s wine regions threatened by drought.
What about on the other side of the world? What’s going on?
Australia is suffering badly from a string of very dry years, the river beds are cracking from the continuous drought with little or no water in some cases available to irrigate. The reservoirs of water are depleted and where to go for moisture when there is no rainfall and no reserve? The concentration of the sugars are out of whack compared to the levels of acidity. You need both to produce well balanced wines. Too much sugar can translate into very high alcohol levels; this coupled with a lack of acidity can lead to flabby wines.
“There are some regions though,” Kenny says “that are blessed at higher altitudes that experience less water problems”. Lets hope for a dry spell here and a long awaited and much needed massive rainfall for our friends, the Aussies!
World renown lecturer, viticulturist and oenologist Kenny Cabernet
Kathy Lynskey 2007
Sauvignon Blanc $21.99 keep for 2 to 3 years. 12 to 15 degrees C Kathy Lynskey Wines is a privately owned boutique Marlborough wine company producing only 4500 cases of limited release, hand crafted wines annually. Kathy Lynskey, Founder and Managing Director was brought up on a local, Marlborough sheep farm, and her passion for wine, combined with her expertise in horticulture led her to the founding of this highly reputed boutique winery, only 23 acres in total, producing wines that have been awarded many medals, consistently scoring 4 or 5 in international competitions. Kathy Lynskey Wines is committed to making powerful, yet elegant wines that have balance and finesse, wines that are rich, full flavoured and well structured. Vineyard management includes the demanding of cropping vines at levels which maximize the intense fruit flavours produced by this very special vineyard site. From the .vineyard to the glass., each one hundred percent single varietal wine produced by this small, dedicated company reflects a .hands on., personal and passionate approach to creating the finest flavours in New Zealand wine.
The fruit for this wine was selected from Lynskey.s own estate vineyard and from three other vineyard blocks. By blending the individual flavours from these sites, we have a wine created a wine which has complex, lifted aromas of ripe melon, apple blossom, bell pepper and fresh limes. The palate is clean and refreshing with lingering flavours of pineapple, grapefruit and crisp green apple. Alcohol Content: 13% 
$263.88
Veuve Clicquot and Porsche Team Up to Make the Fridge of Your Dreams
Vertical Limit, Porsche Design Studio.
A “Vertical event” rocks the Richmond Club in Toronto with Veuve Clicquot Champagne and Porsche design coming together!
Hello Canada captures the excitement and snaps The Wine Ladies taking it all in.
Picture this; Vertical Limit, designed by Porche Design Studio, the sleek stainless steel “slim” fridge, a work of art really is engineered to house twelve of the most coveted vintages of Veuve Clicquot Champagne. Only fifteen manufactured for world ownership and one is auctioned off to benefit the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine. An infinite stream of fashionable guests are there to help celebrate the successful bid of $100,000 courtesy of Dr. John Li hailing from Vancouver. When asked where we might place this object d’art if our bid took the prize, the kitchen was absolutely out of the question! Why only the grand entrance of a magnificent home or villa with a spotlight would make any sense! it’s a good thing Dr. Li made another bid! Phew!that was a close call!
Vertical Limit
Photos: A great cause with “les boules” extraordinaire, Courtesy of Veuve Clicquot Champagne.
Georgia and Susanne at the Richmond Club join the celebration of the successful bid for “Vertical Limit” at $100,000, July 2008.
2007, An Exceptional Vintage for Ontario Wines!
Dr. Allan Jackson and The Wine Ladies at Jackson-Triggs, NOTL
The 2007 vintage is poised to rock the wine world.
“In thirty seven years I’ve never seen a vintage like this in Ontario!”, announces Allan Jackson, co-founder of Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery.
And neither had any of the plethoras of wine writers, authors and radio and television personalities present at a recent wine tasting at Jackson-Triggs Estate Winery in Niagara. The wine tasters were clearly impressed based on the descriptives being attached to the barrel samplings of two flights of wines being tasted.
The 2007 vintage is poised to rock the wine world. This was evident by the audible comments streaming down the long tasting table seating about thirty of us. Among the brief speeches made, at the helm, Keith Brown, VP Winemaking for Vincor Canada, Frank Hellwig, the Australian Director of Vineyard Operations (we loved his accent),Bruce Nicholson, Senior Winemaker, Inniskillin and Marco Piccoli, winemaker Jackson-Triggs all echoing the enthusiasm for 2007.
Vincor National Hospitality Director Del Rollo, with his exuberant charm set the stage. We all knew we were in for a special treat, and that is exactly what we got.
Among the wines stupendously enjoyed, Jackson-Triggs Delaine Vineyard Gewurztraminer, with tropical notes, ripe fruit, lychee, honey and spice, simply delicious. And for a red, the Inniskillin Winemaker’s Series, Montague Vineyard Pinot Noir, with intense depth in color, cherry and strawberry on the nose and lots of ripe flavor, thanks to the vintage (target for release: January 2009).
But the day didn’t end there! We were still to celebrate the official opening of the Inniskillin renovation of the Brae Barn and the beautiful new Piazza, which in Italian means meeting place. But that’s a post for another day.