The Evolution of a Wine: Living at the Edge of a New Wine Region
by Deirdre Heekin
During each harvest themes reveal themselves. Both for me, the people with whom I work, and the wines themselves. Weather patterns create a mood. Sunshine and blue skies lead us into end of summer temperaments. Cool and rainy days wreathed in fog are atmospheric and the veil feels thin between this world and the next. The weather throughout the whole season not only affect our state of mind, but they affect the yeast populations in the vineyard and in the winery, the flora, and fauna that populate the understory of the vines. Understory is an apt word here, denoting the universe of soil, insects, plants, and animals, but also how that universe informs the narrative of a vintage.