New (but old) varietals for us to drink in the future!
With Climate change having the effect of increased temperatures across the world, there are new opinions every day on it's affect on wine varietals and regions. Parts of England (and even Wales) are producing top quality Sparkling wines that are as good as many Champagnes (pity they aren't in Europe!). It has even been suggested (sacrilege!) that the future of Burgundy lay in Cote Chalonnaise and Macon, not Cote d'Or! Say it ain't so!
There is an interesting article - for wine nerds like us - in Wine Enthusiast about the Torres company in Cataluna rescuing practically extinct grape varieties, and one of the potential benefits is that these varietals may be better suited to the future Climate heading our way.
Torres have 'rescued' over 50 ancient varietals and indeed have managed to get 5 of them back into production as wine! Now the names of these varietals don't yet roll off the tongue, but in future we may be glad to find a bottle of Forcada, Moneu, Querol, Gonfaus or Pirene!
Forcada: produces a wine with terrific acidity and flavors of citrus and tropical fruit with touches of smoke. At present, only about 4,800 bottles are made annually. The family also sells vines to other producers.
Pirene: an expressive wine with bright flavors of pomegranate, cranberry, milk chocolate and clove, it is planted in the highest vineyard in Catalonia, which sits at more than 3,100 feet above sea level. The first vintage was 2020 when they made 1241 btls! Miguel Torres (V) says “Pirene is a hardy variety that has adapted well to climate change in addition to presenting all of the attributes needed to produce outstanding wines on an organoleptic level. It is undoubtedly one of the varieties we will be championing from here on out.”
You can read more at Wine Enthusiast or on the Torres site
There is an interesting article - for wine nerds like us - in Wine Enthusiast about the Torres company in Cataluna rescuing practically extinct grape varieties, and one of the potential benefits is that these varietals may be better suited to the future Climate heading our way.
Torres have 'rescued' over 50 ancient varietals and indeed have managed to get 5 of them back into production as wine! Now the names of these varietals don't yet roll off the tongue, but in future we may be glad to find a bottle of Forcada, Moneu, Querol, Gonfaus or Pirene!
Forcada: produces a wine with terrific acidity and flavors of citrus and tropical fruit with touches of smoke. At present, only about 4,800 bottles are made annually. The family also sells vines to other producers.
Pirene: an expressive wine with bright flavors of pomegranate, cranberry, milk chocolate and clove, it is planted in the highest vineyard in Catalonia, which sits at more than 3,100 feet above sea level. The first vintage was 2020 when they made 1241 btls! Miguel Torres (V) says “Pirene is a hardy variety that has adapted well to climate change in addition to presenting all of the attributes needed to produce outstanding wines on an organoleptic level. It is undoubtedly one of the varieties we will be championing from here on out.”
You can read more at Wine Enthusiast or on the Torres site