Wines made from Pinot noir grapes of Baden - Page 2

I remember watching the London fireworks on television last New Year’s Eve. They were spectacular to watch, but where there would usually be throngs of spectators, the streets remained incongruously empty. Social distancing was still in force. It reminded me of my year’s wine drinking up to that point: some dazzling bottles, but often enjoyed without company – or via a screen. As 2022 began, the Covid-19 pandemic gradually relaxed its grip and many of us hurried back to everyday life. The usual ...

How’s the weather been this year? Awful. ‘La nature m’écoeure’, one of my wine-growing friends posted on Facebook on 8 April, having been out to look at the frost-crippled shoots on his vines that morning: ‘Nature disgusts me’. It takes a lot to make a wine-grower feel that. He wasn’t alone. Jeremiads echo around the northern hemisphere as 2021 closes. It’s been the year of all the miseries. None suffered more horribly than the growers of Germany’s Ahr valley, where floodwaters caused by the fou ...

Vacqueyras Vacqueyras is low-lying and mostly flat, and it was hit hard by the frost in 2021. Yields were down around 25%. Vineyards on slopes and near woodland were more likely to be spared, and those that were lucky went on to make precise, fresh, well-balanced reds. Most, however, are light and drinkable, destined to be drunk young. White varieties largely avoided the frost, and the quality is excellent – concentrated wines with impact, acidity and great balance. Scroll down to see tasting no ...