WEATHERING THE WEATHER
Despite near-perfect conditions and incredible grape quality, the 2019 and 2022 vintages still faced stiff challenges, says MARY-THERESE BLAIR.
MOST WINEMAKERS I know can tell you the weather on every single vintage they’ve been part of. So what’s the ideal when it comes to weather at harvest time? In a word – Goldilocks. Not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, not too dry, but juuuust right would be lovely please, Mother Nature.
A quick look at the top six from our tasting will give you a pretty accurate reflection of the quality of vintages 2019 and 2020. In 2019, both Hawke’s Bay and Auckland reported incredible crops – perfect for syrah adorers. And 2020 was a vintage for the ages with amazing conditions and incredible grape quality. All was well, apart from a global pandemic… and you thought worrying about the weather was stressful?
Make wine, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. How lucky we are as non-winemakers to be able to sit back, open a copy of Cuisine and simply decide which bottle of syrah we’re going to enjoy, whatever the weather.