Fame for wines of Spain? The death of Wine Twitter?

Year 13, No. 02

Greetings,

When up in the Languedoc region of Southern France last week, I talked to an Englishman who's known for crafting some head-turning wines like his very expressive 100% Cinsault. As we were chatted and looked at the new food offering he was building next to the cellar (as a table d'hôtes) he said, "This is my exit plan, really."

I was shocked as while he only produces 15,000 bottles of wine a year, they are quite well known and he has no problem selling them. He said the problem is that he believes there's no future for viticulture due to climate change. Our winters in Europe aren't cold enough or for long enough to kill off various pests in the vineyards or to allow the vines to enter full dormancy.

As if to hurl a bit of spite at him, Mother Nature decided to give us a mighty hit of sub zero winter this week that we'd been waiting for. While the low has dropped to -8C (17F) at night with a threat of snow, it's perhaps not stunning for some, but definitely cold when living in t…