Wine thread - what are you enjoying?

[CapMan]

Mer Soleil 30th Anniversary Chardonnay

Sounds great - hope you had a wonderful dinner and celebration.

 

[Eric Natural]

I struggle to understand how producers manage to deal with the wide amplitude of temperatures in those places. Or am I wrong about that?

I'm not sure if you're thinking about the daily amplitude(diurnal) or seasonal temperatures. Vineyards located next to or close to a large body of water are tempered at the extremes by the heat-sink of the water. Here in Michigan, Lake Michigan keeps land mass nearby from the most extreme lows(and highs naturally). Northern NY state vineyards are identical re: their lakes & vineyards. Another example is the Rhine. The Med prolly keeps your vines from some of the heat . . .
Curious if you even have seasons in Sicily like here in the north ?
Cheers

 

[Karmacoma]

I'm not from Sicily I'm from France aka one of the world area (if not the) with the lowest seasonal range of temperatures, and even here producers Can sometimes struggle cos of a little late frost or a little too sunny summer. When I think about northern USA I expect very cold winters with uneven late frosts during spring and very hot summers. Kudos to the dedicated producers out there it must be really hard to get consistent quantity and quality. I got my answer from SIY though, they use resilient breeds adapted to continental climate in areas with micoclimates and results seem to vary a lot from year to year if I understood well.

 

[Winemaker]

Curious if you even have seasons in Sicily like here in the north ?

Saying "Sicily" is very vague. Sicily, from the province of Trapani to the peaks of Etna, varies as a continent can vary. It goes from dried grapes of Pantelleria to Nerello Mascalese or Nerello Cappuccio wines, Etna, which seem to come from Burgundy (see Frank Cornelissen's Magma).
Then, obviously, the whole island is affected by the presence of the sea, except perhaps the most internal areas of the island.

 

[Eric Natural]

Apologies Karma - obviously mistook you for Winemaker above
It is hard for winemakers here to achieve consistency vintage after vintage - but they're getting a little help from global warming. Thicker-skinned varietals and specialized, thick-skin hybrids help at managing the challenging seasons.
Cheers

 

[Thomas_A]

Some good wines today.

 

[CapMan]

Grover Reserve from India - cab/syrah blend. The wine making is overseen by MW Michel Rolland - pretty good with our curry in Paris tonight

 

[GD Fan]

Tonight's options.

 

[PatentLawyer]

96 is singing.

 

[GD Fan]

96 is singing.

Honestly it is one of my all time favorite vintages for BDX.

This one had shed most of its tannic structure but paired beautifully with the lamb chops and lentils. Quite the repast!