Burgundy Needs Rain to Balance the Summer’s Heat

The 2022 harvest is peeping around the corner, and people are counting the days and hours, ready to spring into action when the grapes are ready, or “à point.”

À point – at just the right time; at the peak of ripeness; at the perfect degree of doneness.

Slow and uneven veraison

I regularly speak to vignerons on my way through Nuits-Saint-Georges and other villages, and they are quite optimistic currently, but underline the need for some refreshing water in the vineyards at some point before harvest.

Problems are starting to brew, as the hot summer is causing drought, hence blocking the development of the grapes and the ripening process.

The veraison (colour change in the grapes) is uneven this year, evidence that the hot weather and drought are, in some cases, blocking the development of the vines.

For many, a good harvest-date gauge is 45 days from mid-veraison. But in 2022, what is/was “mid-veraison?” There is quite wide variation in the veraison, and it is in many places progressing slowly and somewhat randomly.

Many growers are planning to start harvest during the last few days of August, which for some seems like a gamble given the shut-down of the ripening process in some vineyards. As always, the key will be reaching phenolic ripeness, and if we have serious effects of the drought all through August, then timing the harvest could be quite a nightmare, playing off rapidly rising alcohol levels and falling acidity against good – or even reasonable – phenolic maturity.

Finding phenolic ripeness

As said, the key to winemaking success is finding optimal phenolic ripeness without over-doing sugar ripeness or losing balancing acidity – often a daunting task.

We need water

Let’s be clear: The vines need water, to ease the drought and re-establish the normal phenolic ripening of the grapes in many places.

If we don’t get some rain, ideally gentle, long and plentiful, then there could be negative consequences for the quality of the 2022 harvest.

Please note. however: So far, things look surprisingly good, even given the temperatures and the lack of rain. But the situation is starting to become worrisome.

Good luck to all!