Taille Chablis
This is the traditional pruning system for Chardonnay in Champagne.
Accentuated cut edges (ACE) maceration on pinot noir
Dr. Angela Sparrow at the University of Tasmania, Australia has devised what is known as the ACE (accentuated cut edges) technique of pinot noir maceration.
English and Welsh wine industry comes of age
The 9th international cool climate wine symposium took place in Brighton, UK, last month – “the first serious academic wine symposium to take place in the British Isles” said keynote speaker Jancis Robinson MW.
Ten top cool climate locations
Top coolest climates according to GST. Growing season temperature (GST) does exactly what it says on the tin. It is the average temperature for each month of the seven month growing season (October to April in the southern hemisphere; April to September in the northern hemisphere), divided by seven.
Tasmania – a masterclass with Michael Hill-Smith MW
Michael Hill-Smith MW is the co-founder of Shaw and Smith in Adelaide Hills, and of Tolpuddle Vineyard in Tasmania. He put together a masterclass to show what Tas is doing best, namely sparkling, riesling, chardonnay and pinot noir.
May frost and June rain still scourge UK wine grape yields, despite warmer temperatures
New research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) into the impact of climate change on winegrowing in the UK suggest viticulturally extreme weather events, such as cold snaps and downpours, are likely to continue to threaten yields in the newly-nascent, modernised and expanding wine production industry in the UK, despite improving average growing season temperatures.
Advantage Tasmania
With increasing demand for cool climate wines and wines that are fresh and refreshing, Tasmania is truly on song.
Skinny – a new era for Aussie chardonnay?
Forget skinny lattes, skinny is a new model for Aussie chardonnay – lean, maybe a bit mean, very clean, even edging to green. The style has been around for a while, as Tom Carson, winemaker at Yabby Lake in the Mornington Peninsula explained “these wines have been here in Australia but they didn’t have too much of a voice. Now, everyone is talking about these wines, and how fine they are.”
Australia's new cool
Australian cool viticultural climates can generally be found at higher altitudes or latitudes. Many have climbed in search of cooler zones such as the Macedon Ranges, Adelaide Hills, Whitlands at the Alpine end of King Valley, and the Upper (south) Yarra Valley. But maritime areas, especially those exposed to cool, Southern Ocean currents in the Bass Strait as it funnels across lands south of Melbourne, also find cool, and windy, locations. Island state Tasmania gets the double whammy of a high latitude location that is bang in the middle of the roaring forties trade winds.
Growing season temperature
Growing season temperature (GST) may just provide the most refined single index yet for identifying regions of cool and very cool climates. Work by Dr Andrew Pirie, honorary research associate at Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research, consultant at Tamar Ridge, and owner of Apogee, a single vineyard Tasmanian sparkling wine, has revised the index.
