Vineyards in Champagne. (Wikimedia)
In Wine-Searcher, Caroline Henry continues her reporting on the great herbicide divide in Champagne. “Many growers have defended their dependence on herbicides by arguing that especially this year, they really needed to use them, because of the thinness of the vine branches, supposedly caused by a lack of water in the soil. Therefore, to protect the vine, all competition had be eradicated which means leaving as little grass as possible in the vineyard. However, in their claims they seemed to have forgotten that herbicides further contribute to soil erosion, and thus, ironically, hamper the soil’s ability for water retention, which means they are exacerbating the problem, rather than fixing it.”
A long hot summer has miraculously produced some surprisingly fresh reds that should stand the test of time, says Panos Kakaviatos who shares industry impressions of the Bordeaux 2022 vintage following en primeur tastings in Club Oenologique.
A decade after Latour quit the en primeur system, Liv-ex examines its performances on the secondary market.
Jancis Robinson explore Napa’s “controversial” 2020 reds, a vintage marked by fire damage and lost harvests—but not for all.
Jesica Vargas delves into the history of old vine Sémillon in Argentina in Wine Enthusiast.
In the Washington Post, Dave McIntyre looks at how electric tractors are helping vineyards fight climate change.
In the Drinks Business, L.M. Archer looks at how Walla Walla nonprofit winery VITAL Wines is helping vineyard workers in Washington State.
Source : https://www.terroirist.com/daily-wine-news-herbicide-divide/
