Huge stroms have battered the Champagne vineyards, but as ever, there's a silver lining if you look hard enough.
If you read my blog yesterday you will have discovered that there's currently a big debate in Champagne about how big the harvest should be this year.
Sales of champagne are down, so logic says that there needs to be fewer grapes picked this year to avoid over-stocking. Those whose livelihood depends on growing and selling grapes however, aren't happy with that idea. So, how to resolve the debate?
Perhaps Mother Nature has the answer...
Last weekend saw a huge storm pass over the region and in particuar over the villages of Aÿ, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Avenay-Val-d'Or. Torrents of rain and cascades of mud rushed down the vineyard slopes and the vines were battered mercilessly by hail. According to some reports as much as 30% of the grapes in these villages were destroyed. That doesn't necessarily mean that 30% of the harvest will be lost, but some will be for certain.
If that were not enough, there's been a particularly bad outbreak of mildew in the vineyards this year and this too threatens to reduce the harvest even further. The great strides made over the last few years in reducing the use of harmful chemicals to treat the vines, seem to have left the vines more susceptible to disease.
Like it or not, it seems that this year's harvest will be relatively small and one wonders whether Mother Nature hasn't intervened to avoid mere mortals having to make the decision themselves.
Still, the champenois have seen this all before. Some of them are already saying that this year's harvest is a bit of a right off and, gritting their teeth, are setting their sights on better things in 2010.
As the great wine writer, Patrick Forbes once said,
"It's not time, nor money, nor hard work, nor dedication that is needed most in Champagne, but courage"
I'd like to acknowledge the excellent blog Ad Vinum Eternam for the inspiration for this post and the photo
http://www.ad-vinum-eternam.com
It's written in French, so for all you French speakers/readers, it's worth a look
Jiles
Comments