Well, Alan, looks like you should read up on microclimates. I don’t know about Burgundy, but microclimates are alive and well in Napa Valley, and dialing it down further, in Calistoga alone.
About 5 years ago the Lock’n music festival in Nelson County VA was postponed a day because of a near tornado that ripped apart the stage and sound system a day before their opening in mid August. Less than 2 miles away the Lovingston winery experienced ‘zero’ damage to their crop.
Shall we discuss weather more?
I know people who can taste grapes and tell you a lot. But I am not sure if they can tell the difference between really good and great grapes all the time. This is not something you can learn in fifteen minutes.
Merrill is right about micro climates. In the immortal words of Anna Banana Danna, “There’s always somethin’!” This is especially true when you are at the border of where grapes can be ripened every year.
Micro-climate is very much a component of terroir, which is the sum of the factors affecting wines at a site-- geology, drainage, orientation to the sun, etc. You can’t leave out climate.
My point is that climate and even micro-climate must have some level of topographic resolution, i get it can change with even as much as 500yds or even 3-500 feet of elevation or different sun exposures but im not buying into 20-30 ft across a level roadway
Cold air flows downward. You can have areas of a vineyard that pool cold air (and are far from apparent they would do so, just looking at the land). Maybe that means delayed bud break, the grapes being a little behind, but ripening at the same rate during summer, then slowing down near harvest in cooler years. It can be a very small area.
I know Alan takes a lot of heat around here but I don’t think this is a dumb question at all. I think it’s a great question and really interesting. It’s a very common assumption is that wine quality is mainly determined by grape quality so what really is the difference between mediocre grapes and great grapes? You should in some way be able to see it taste it touch it or smell it in the raw grapes. Very penetrating question
There have been some really good / thoughtful answers from winemakers too — I’m learning a lot!
