Tag: climate

Glasses of champagne with a view over the vineyards

Champagne is preparing for more climate change

When you visit Champagne nowadays, the question of the acidity in the wines often comes up. It is generally accepted that a good quality sparkling wine should have a high acidity. But with warmer summers,

Frost damaged vines in springtime

Warm March causes frost damage in April

In the middle of March, warm temperatures hit France, meaning the growing season started early in the vineyards. In some places, the budding began as early as the third week of March (e.g. cabernet franc

A drip irrigation pipe with a drop of water

Easier to irrigate in France

Irrigation has always been strictly regulated in the European vineyards. But drought affects more and more wine vineyards, and the rules are loosened. It has been generally allowed in France for several years to irrigate

A very warm and sunny summer day

Record early harvest after record hot summer

This year the harvest is very early in many places in France. At the beginning of August, some producers had already started in Languedoc-Roussillon. In Champagne, the first village to harvest was on August 20

A bunch of chenin blanc grapes in Anjou, Loire Valley

8 new grape varieties approved in France

New grape varieties are regularly approved in France. First, they are preliminarily approved for a few years and then they are entered in the official French grape vine catalogue. Recently, these 8 grapes were enrolled,

Label on a wine bottle with sign HVE, Haute Valeur Environnementale

Towards a more sustainable monopoly

Customers want to make sustainable choices, and therefore Systembolaget (the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly) will introduce its own sustainability label in 2022. This was announced by Ulf Sjödin, category manager at Systembolaget, during a digital

Hilly vineyard landscape in Priorat (Priorato) near Gratallops, Catalonia, Spain

The heroes of the vineyards | New Brief #213

There is something called heroic viticulture. It is, for instance, vineyards on steep slopes, at high altitudes, on narrow terraces, on dry, windy islands. Here the wine world’s superheroes toil. The more difficult the terrain,

Grape varieties in Torres' vineyards in Catalonia

Torres urges wine producers to act for the climate

The International Wineries for Climate Action (IWCA) was founded in 2019 by the Torres family in Spain, long-time environmentalists, and the Jackson Family Wines in California. The purpose of the association is to make the

Exploring a glacier lake at Mount Cook in New Zealand

Viña San Pedro makes wine to save Chile’s glaciers

Patagonia’s glaciers are melting alarmingly fast. Viña San Pedro in Chile will soon launch a wine to support Glaciares Chilenos, a non-profit association that works to protect Patagonia’s glaciers. The wine is called South Cause

A drip irrigation pipe with a drop of water

Easier to irrigate in France

Irrigation has always been strictly regulated in the European vineyards. But drought affects more and more wine vineyards, and the rules are loosened. It has

Label on a wine bottle with sign HVE, Haute Valeur Environnementale

Towards a more sustainable monopoly

Customers want to make sustainable choices, and therefore Systembolaget (the Swedish alcohol retail monopoly) will introduce its own sustainability label in 2022. This was announced

Month-by-month archive

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

25,000 subscribers get wine news every month. You too?