Wines made from Marzemino grapes of Lombardie

Springtime brings the so-called ‘Caldaia di Maggio’ to Barolo, a noise similar to a kettle simmering that is caused by evaporating water in the soils. This year, however, it’s unlikely that this phenomenon will occur. Drought is affecting the entire north of Italy; predominantly the Langhe but also Valpolicella and Franciacorta. Not even Tuscany is spared. The vineyards are lacking the reserves of water that their soils usually contain at this time of year. Winter passed without snow in almost a ...

With 5,848ha under vine Uruguay is becoming one of the most closely observed emerging wine producers in the world, with the focus here mostly on quality whites and the flagship Tannat reds. Uruguayan wine regions are coastal, meaning that their climate is defined by prevailing winds from the Río de la Plata and the Atlantic Ocean, which usually ensure plenty of rainfall, especially in summer. However, this wasn’t true of the 2023 harvest. Uruguay suffered from its most severe drought in 50 years ...

Colin Hay, a professor of political economy with a special interest in the Place de Bordeaux, considers the different ways of approaching en primeur purchasing, ahead of this year’s 2021 campaign. Buying en primeur wines is a rather strange and, arguably, arcane system of buying and selling in which the consumer purchases the wine typically in the early summer following the vintage even though it will not be bottled and delivered for a further 12-18 months. It is, in effect, a futures mark ...