A year ago we were scrambling for TP and sanitizer. More recently, everything from computer chips to chicken wings to restaurant wait staff have been in short supply as the economy recovers and consumers ramp up their spending. Well, prepare for the Big One, especially in three states.
Wine grapes are the canary in the coal mine when it comes to growing crops on a warming planet. Wines, especially premium wine grapes, grow in narrow bands that are largely climate-based. It's not just heat, but cold, rainy seasons, wind, length of the growing season, and sunlight that play a factor in wine grape quality.
This is my own non-scientific list of things people use to buy wine when in a retail store. It's in order of my guess for most to least important (but not insignificant) reason to pick a particular wine.
What changed in people's minds when it came to making buying decisions in 2020 (besides trying to find toilet paper)? Not so much the mechanisms they used, like buying more online, but what drove them? Will these trends continue? How does it relate to wine?
It's not just Napa, but changes often show up in Napa first. Maybe that's just because more people are looking there. Things there seem to be in flux with rising costs, changes in retailing, fires, and the pandemic.
Premium wine grapes grow in a fairly narrow climate range. They are generally planted for a average amount of yearly rain, maybe some is expected during the growing season, maybe not. High and low temps matter at different times in the vineyard. Heating degree days, humidity, and wind are also factors.
Wine Clubs, the way to automatically get too much wine shipped to your house if you do it wrong. For wineries, it's a known and constant income stream. There are reasons to join wine clubs. Here's my own experience.
Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County has a deserved reputation for Zinfandel. Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and others do well there, too, but Zin is king.
So what are some wineries to check out? There are already lots of lists for the Ten Best Zinfandels in Dry Creek. This one is a little different because, honestly, there is so much great Zinfandel in DCV that any list is never definitive.
A former felon (for marijuana cultivation) now runs a cannabis farm with a license allowing tourists to visit and spend the night. Huckleberry Hill is in the redwoods of northern California's famous Emerald Triangle. A little bit of weed country tourism that is about a three hour drive north of the Napa/Sonoma wine country.
Article from sfgate.com
Wine grapes are the canary in the coal mine for food crops. Premium wine requires a certain weather pattern to produce the best wines. With a little wine experience it's easy to taste the difference between a Napa cabernet from 2011 (cool, rainy) and 2012 (a typical sunny, warm year), for instance. Or the difference between a cab from south Napa County (cool) and upvalley (hot).
Climate change is starting to cause problems for the people growing grapes. It's not always about more heat, but about more variability.
Link: French wine disaster
Sometimes you might want something a little different from just a standard wine tasting. Maybe a little art. A couple wineries known for there sculpture gardens on their sprawling estates are Donum and Paradise Ridge.
