When was the last time you had a glass of wine? Did you notice how aromatic it was? How wonderful it tasted as it washed down your tongue? A lot of it depends on veraison, the period which marks the onset of grape ripening.

At veraison, the grapes slowly begin to soften and enlarge as the cells expand. And when that happens, the sugar levels shoot up dramatically and offset the acidity of the grape, giving the berries their distinct flavours.

These changes are accompanied by a medley of other chemical reactions in the berries. Anthocyanins accumulate and give the grapes their classic purple and red colours. The colours protect them from ultraviolet rays. Tannins increase, giving the wine a taste of astringence. Even more, tannins protect the tender vines against the depredations of grazing animals and pests.

All of this depends on the well-established, gradual changes of season, the quality of soil and the presence of water. In recent years, however, climate change has dramatically affected the quality of vintage. Heat waves, wildfires, frost, fog and droughts have devastated harvests in place as far away as Europe, Americas and Australia.

But surprisingly, despite the climate, 2022 has brought good news for vineyards and viticulturists.

Our Master of Wine, Peter McCombie, who hosts our Chief Wine Officer events, recently visited Champagne to enjoy the harvest season, and here’s what he had to say.

“I’ve just spent a couple of days in Champagne,” he said, “and the harvest is looking good. Hats off to the pickers: I spent a mere hour harvesting. Everything must, by law, be picked by hand in Champagne, and I can tell you it is back breaking work.

“What really interested me was the condition of the grapes. They were very healthy, with mostly even ripeness in the bunches and very few diseased or damaged grapes. I was hosted by Piper-Heidseick who are moving towards organic cultivation, so the health of the grapes was especially impressive.

“It’s been a hot, dry season but yields are also high, which is great news after two low volume vintages. Piper’s chef de cave says it’s too early to say how good the vintage is, since the heat may have resulted in lower acidity, but I think there is some cause for optimism.”
This optimism is shared by other growers and producers in Champagne.

Roland-Billecart, the CEO of Billecart-Salmon told Decanter that the growing season has been ideal. “We have had very long sunny spells and the ground benefited from water reserves from 2021. We have hardly had any diseases to worry about and no large-scale natural disasters like frost or hailstorms. As good as it gets really.”

That’s the story in Europe. Let’s now look at the situation in sunny California, home to some major wine labels.

We reached out to our Master of Wine in the US, Amy Christine. She owns the Holus Bolus Winery and The Joy Fantastic Vineyard in Santa Barbara County, California. Amy had some exciting things to report, despite the low volume of vintage.

“California has seen a record long heat wave,” she said speaking of the harvest, “with temperatures in many areas pushing 100 degrees or more. This has accelerated sugar accumulation in an already early vintage — due to early bud break — up a week or more.

“The good news is that even though sugars are rising, acidity seems to be holding, which will afford the resulting wines a refreshing lift. The years long drought has resulted in a dearth of ground water, and even with irrigation yields are reduced.
“Quality will depend upon timing of picking in relation to wine style, but overall, it appears to be a very high quality, low yielding vintage!”

Everything said and done, 2022 is turning out to be a good year for winemakers and, hopefully, wine lovers. If you love premium wines like we do, we have something more for you.