On the near horizon
While giving a nod to dry January, Christine Austin looks at the changing world of wine as we head into 2024 and also serves up a few highlights from the past 12 months.
HAVE you started your dry January penance yet? Was the festive season so indulgent that you need to dry out for a whole month? Years ago, I decided to have one, then two and now occasionally three “dry” nights a week. Most of my family have birthdays in January, as I do, so a completely dry month would be dull indeed.
Those few no-wine nights a week have reset my sleep, weight and exercise patterns and enable me to enjoy wine at various January birthday gatherings. However, if you want to concentrate all your dry nights into a single month, that is fine as long as you don’t wrap yourself in smugness and tell everyone about it.
A period of not drinking allows you time to sort out your wine rack and fill the spaces left by festive drinking. Local wine merchants see their income drop like a stone in January, so brighten their day by browsing their lists, and wandering into their shops and picking up a bottle or two for drinking in February.
This is also a good opportunity to review the wines you have enjoyed last year, if the empties haven’t already gone to the recycling bin. I often keep a few prized bottles as a reminder of special dinners with friends, but in the end they all have to go. So I generally take a final look at the labels and remember the taste of the wine and the excitement of the occasion.
2023 saw me taste some fabulous wines and visit some glorious vineyards. Here are a few highlights from my year and the way the wine business is moving into a new era.
REGENERATION AND OLD VINES
Last year there was a focus on old vines and looking after the land where vines grow. Why do people care about old vines? Why not pull them out and replant with new, more vigorous varieties? The answer is simple. These old vines have a wealth of acclimatisation inside them. Over the decades they have adapted to water accessibility and weather patterns and they provide a snapshot into viticulture decades ago.
I remember moving into my first Yorkshire house with a garden that had been planted with roses over a hundred years before. These roses were sturdy, hardy, with lethal thorns but they produced the most fabulous blooms. Old vines are like that. Some may be recognised varieties, others lost to history, but they have acclimatised to their location and have dug their roots down.
They may not produce as many grapes as young vines, but they give concentrated flavours that come through into the wines. They also may help us discover how to get through the climate changes ahead of us. Old vines frequently can survive without irrigation, without pesticides and fertilisers. They are hardy, independent and all they need is a little care. As temperatures and weather patterns change, the old vines have learnt how to survive, and they can point the way to continuing agriculture.
As for regenerative agriculture, this is just a studious way of turning the clock back to the days when the health of the soil was the paramount factor in farming. At a conference held in the hills of the Penedes region in Spain, I learnt how viticulture needs to change.
“We need to take a holistic approach to the health of our soil, regarding it as an ecosystem beneath out feet,” said one eminent speaker. “Soil is not just dirt, it has fungi, bacteria and a
whole living world that needs to be diverse and working together to maintain a healthy environment for crops.”
Fungi, nitrogen and carbon capture are all hot topics in viticulture and will become more important as time goes on. Less tilling the soil, fewer herbicides and more cover crops are all aspects of viticulture that may change.
SANTORINI
There is a resurgence of interest in Greek wines, in particular from Santorini, so I headed there to check it out. This was my first visit to a Greek island and its location in the midst of a blue Aegean sea was spectacular. This popular holiday island is the remains of the rim of a volcano which is largely dormant, but which had a major eruption 3,600 years ago. It took several centuries for a population to return and now it is famous, not only as a holiday island, but for its wines.
All that volcanic ash and pumice has created a free-draining soil with very little organic matter, so these vines need to dig down deep to survive. Strong winds blow across the island, so the grape growers have developed a way of training vines by winding the growing shoots in a circle, creating a basket, with the grapes developing inside that structure. Not only do they provide protection for the grapes, but they also act as funnels for moisture from early morning fogs, directing droplets of water towards the vine roots.
The main grape is Assyrtiko (asser-tee-co), a fresh-tasting grape, with lime zest flavours, sometimes a touch of peach and a definite streak of minerality. Almost Chablis-like, it has a saline note, making it an excellent partner with food, especially fish. When the weather warms up, try Gaia Assyrtiko Wild Ferment 2022, (£34 Hic! in Ledston, also available from Field & Fawcett) for its fresh citrus, peach and melon notes and savoury complexity which gives a distinct nod towards Burgundy.
TUSCANY
Last year I have visited Tuscany more than any other region and I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the countryside and the quality of the wines. Chianti, and in particular Chianti Classico, from the heartland of the region has had a dramatic shift in quality to the point where these wines are world class. Over the last 30 years there has been a programme of quality development, some triggered by tighter rules and legislation, but also a determination by many producers to up their game.
Research into vine clones, winemaking and soil structure is adding depth and structure to Chianti Classico. Start with Villa Cafaggio Chianti Classico at £14.99 from Waitrose and then step up to Fontodi Chianti Classico 2019 (Roberts & Speight, £25.99).