Malvasia by any other name & sparkling Rioja?

Year 12, No. 08

Greetings,

Throughout Europe, the picking bins are being scrubbed one last time and the pruning shears being tossed in a drawer until next year. Yes, that collective sigh is making its way around the wineries as the 2022 harvest season largely draws to a close.

And what a strange year 2022 has been with ongoing, massive heat waves washing down upon pretty much all wine regions in Europe as well as North America. There were fears of brutal sugar levels and possibly a very crap vintage but it seems our wonderful friends the vines must have said, "Enough of this, I'm shutting down." and they just let their grapes hang in an overall chill state. I say this as while yields are down a little, it's by no means a wash out. We'll see where we get in the coming months once what is currently sugary juice becomes the wine it will be--the latter of which can't happen soon enough given the stank rising from a rather sloppy cellar nearby.

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