Winery Mettler Family VineyardsAglianico

After years of managing the deleterious effects of climate change – drought, wildfires and beyond – winemakers across northern California have experienced much-needed relief in the form of excessive rainfall last winter and into spring 2023. Potential delays to the 2023 harvest In Napa, Stu Smith, winemaker at Smith-Madrone, credited a cold and wet winter, followed by a persistent ‘June gloom’ to this year’s harvest delay, which he predicts to be around three weeks behind average. Winemaker Paul ...

Given the sheer climatic diversity, the California 2022 harvest was a story of variability, specific varieties and varied approaches to making it all work out. Yields are down, nearly across the board. Still, winemakers and vineyard managers report high-quality fruit throughout the state, and the prediction is that the potential for fantastic, complex wines is high. There was tremendous variability up and down (as well as across) the state. An uneven growing season, with uneven effects throughou ...

There’s a reason why heavily-applied perfume ranks highly on most wine lovers’ list of pet peeves. It overpowers your senses, conceals aromas and distorts your perception of a wine. In professional tastings and wine exams the wearing of perfume is banned, if not thoroughly frowned upon. You just don’t do it. What then, if we applied the same logic to music, controlling the sounds we hear, or don’t hear, while tasting wine? There’s no doubt that a chaotic environment can clog your synapses, makin ...