culture
Unwined: About The Drought in California
What California's extreme weather means for its wines, and how Ontario matches up.
“The vines have been waiting for this moment,” I am told by Betsy Musick, Brand Ambassador for Benziger winery in Glen Ellen, California, in reference to the state’s severe drought.
Last week I had the opportunity to visit several wineries in California. Driving through the drought-stricken state was not a pretty sight, what with miles after miles of yellowish and dark browns as far as the eye could see. I realized how easy it is to take for granted how lucky we are here in Ontario to have such easy access to vast freshwater reserves.
While I drink a lot of Canadian wine I have a soft spot for California chardonnay, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. Hearing about this year’s difficult growing conditions gave me cause for concern about whether or not we are in for a price hike or even worse, the eventual extinction of California cab brought on by the severe weather.
The effect of the drought varies from region to region, but something you will hear from winemakers all over the world is that great fruit comes from vines that struggle. What this means is that you want the grapes to really have to work to get enough water before turning into tasty fruit. If you have a wet summer your fruit will become lazy and watered down. When the conditions are dry the roots of the vines have to sink deeper into the ground to try and find moisture; as a result, the berries in the grape clusters don’t get as big and plump and its flavours become more concentrated.
There are many vines in California that are over 100 years old and their vines go very deep. The wineries are proud of their 2012-14 vintages, as those years brought near perfect growing conditions. The Sonoma Valley has received about 75 per cent of its usual rainfall. But the vines are beginning to show signs of stress that are beyond ideal. Though there will be less of it, the fruit from 2015 will be nearly perfect.
In the meantime, here are a few wines that you can enjoy from some stellar vintages at a great price.
2012 Benziger Chardonnay – Vintages 34777 – $19.95 – ***1/2+ – Benziger farms their fruit biodynamically, an extreme form of organic farming that uses sheep to prune and fertilize the vines. The vineyard also grows gardens strategically to attract insects that combat pests on top of planning vineyard management to coincide with the lunar calendar. As a result, this wine is rich but balanced with great acidity. Pineapple and vanilla will fill your mouth right to the top.
2012 Ridge Three Valleys – Vintages 652875 – $35.95 – **** – Some of the vines from Ridge go back 100 years. When you are dealing with old vines, what usually happens is that the fruit production slows down and you get beautiful concentrated grapes to work with. The vineyards at Ridge were planted with a blend of many different types of grapes, and this wine is its delightful result. Rich and smoky, Three Valleys boasts ripe and jammy flavours of blackberry, currant and plum.
2012 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Old Vines Zinfandel – Vintages 642599 – $17.95 – ***1/2 – Ravenswood is another winery with very old vines that go back a hundred years. The final product is a very good, straightforward bargain Zinfandel that’s smoky and filled with plum, blueberry, black currant and raspberry. This wine is a perfect match for your next barbecue.
While we aren’t dealing with extreme drought in Ontario, winemakers here have their own battles with nature. The region’s very cold past two winters left tons of dead vines in the region, particularly affecting the syrah and gewurztraminer varietals. But, also like California, new sustainable practices being implemented successfully at many of our local wineries, and that offers hope. Ontario’s own Tawse and Southbrook are fully biodynamic wineries, while many others are implementing parts of the biodynamic philosophy in their vineyard management.
2013 Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay – $22.95 – ****+ – This is one of the best chardonnays from Ontario at its price. With loads of vanilla, apple and peach at first sip, the finish on this wine has a nice refreshing acidity with enough vanilla flavour left over to keep things interesting. It would be completely worthwhile to pick this up and compare it to the Benziger chardonnay to see how much of a difference climate makes.