In some areas of France, Busalacchi says, wine producers refer to climate change as le bon problème, or the good problem. Tipping a delicate balance A number of wine regions around the world are in the sweet spot right now,” Busalacchi says. “We have been seeing places like Bordeaux, Germany and northern Italy, even California, putting together a string of very good and very consistent vintages as a result of climate.” Along with exclusive launches, special offers and unique big bottle formats, Grape Expectations will offer one of the most exciting range of whiskeys outside of London. The focus of our Direct Import Portfolio efforts are with European wine, but we import directly from most other major regions in the world as well.

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These changes will be especially noticeable in high-quality wines that generally get “better” with age, Busalacchi says. Such wines are usually made with premium grapes of a specific type to produce a consistent taste, whereas everyday table wines are often blended from grapes of different regions. Wine growers have already started to see sweeter grapes and higher alcohol levels. In Germany’s Franconia region, the sugar content of pressed grape juice that’s used to make wine rose some 20 grams per liter each decade from 1962 to 2010, researchers reported July 23 in PLOS ONE. The team concluded that changes in growing-season temperature account for more than 40 percent of the increase. In fact, those local differences have conspired to turn a single species of grape, Vitis vinifera, into the source of the vast array of premium wines popular today. Most of the world’s wine production comes from just a few vinifera varieties, including chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, pinot noir and Johannisberg riesling. These grapes are extremely responsive to their physical environment. Soil composition, moisture, hours of exposure to sunlight — even the way that the leaves drape over the fruit — all affect the overall quality and taste of the final product, wine. Such factors get at the nature of terroir, a word that ascribes a wine’s uniqueness to the physical environment where grapes grow. Our distribution portfolios are split between products sourced from the Grape Expectations Direct Import Portfolio, and those from US-based wineries and importers.

My Journey into Wine

That was when I got infected,” he said. “That was when I thought: ‘I don’t want this life: I want that one. Once I’d found a guitar to play I found a friend to help me get there.” The ultimate hangout for seasoned winos, but also a great restaurant with incredible food. The list is ace, curated by industry legend and good friend Giovanni Paradiso. 10williamst.com.au Bespoke gifts from the world of wine and spirits that can cater for both the corporate consumer and special occasions such as birthdays and anniversaries

Grape Expectations Magazine | Issue 18 by GrapeExpectation

N. A. Bokulich et al. Microbial biogeography of wine grapes is conditioned by cultivar, vintage, and climate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Published online November 25, 2013. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1317377110.

Some may argue that this trend is driven by economics, catering to consumers’ taste for bigger, bolder wines,” Jones says. “But our research shows that climate variability and change has clearly helped boost the alcohol levels.” Creating the ideal conditions for growing quality wine grapes is, as Jones puts it, a multibillion dollar issue. Though there’s not one perfect environment for grapes, there is a well-known range of characteristics that growers look for. Grapevines hate wet feet and do best in arid areas where temperatures don’t dip below 12˚ or 13˚ Celsius during the growing season, or spike above 22˚ C. Sunlight is important too. As a vine’s leaves soak up sunshine, the light fuels photosynthesis, which fills the grapes with sugars. After fermentation, these sugars become alcohol.