In other words, why is the year important? Because wine pays attention to three-point technology and seven-point raw materials.
Technology is mainly influenced by factors such as winery equipment and winemaker's brewing process, and it is generally easy to control.
The raw material of wine is grapes.
Grapes are of good quality and wine is relatively good.
However, grapes are affected by sunshine, rainfall and other climatic factors, and the year with poor climatic conditions will inevitably affect the quantity and quality of wine in that year.
For growing grapes, the so-called bad weather refers to factors such as lack of water during the growing period, insufficient sunshine during the harvest period or excessive rainfall.
If the weather conditions were good that year, the harvested grapes would be good and the wine would be good.
So understand, the longer the wine, the better. For example, for Bordeaux wine, 1982 and 1990 are 10 points, 1980 is only 4 points, and 8 1 is 6 points, so 1982 is more than 80 years and 8/kloc-.
Similarly, 90 years is better than 89 years, 88 years and 87 years.
In addition, it was also a good year, with 65,438+00 points. The year of 1982 will be more expensive than that of 1990. The Bordeaux producing area in 2005 is a rare good year, but it may be cheaper than that in 2002 at present, because the price is not only determined by the quality, but also affected by the relationship between supply and demand, brand awareness and other factors.
In addition, for the year end, we should pay attention to the following points:
1. Most of the wines sold in the market are ordinary wines. Just drink it within a few years after listing, and the proportion of wine that can withstand aging is not large.
2. Dry white wine and dry red wine have different climate requirements: high temperature is beneficial to the ripening of red grapes, but too high temperature will make the fruit acid of white grapes lose, making dry white wine lose its freshness and fruity aroma.
3. Experts' evaluation of the quality of a country or region can only be used as a reference and may not be suitable for everyone.
Because different communities in the same country or region have regional microclimate.
Take Bordeaux as an example. There are so many small producing areas below Bordeaux, so Bordeaux is not very good, which does not mean that all the communities in it are poor.
Even in the same community, grape varieties from different wineries may have different climate requirements.
In addition, some wineries choose grapes in depth in bad years to make up for the quality, or take some artificial remedial measures, so the quality of wine may not be much worse than that in good years.
4. Place of origin.
The factors affecting climate may only occur in a local area, so the quality of a year varies from place to place, especially in the northern planting areas, such as Germany, Austria and northern France.
In Australia and California, because of the stable weather, the annual grape harvest in Chengdu is better, and the problem of good or bad year is relatively less important.
When people buy wine, they always take "year" as the only basis, and only wines rated as "good year" by wine critics are worth buying.
As a result, the quality and body of wine are not valued by consumers, and the change of year number has become a myth of purchase.
In order to challenge the vintage and solve the myth, Lin Yusen, a famous wine expert, will lead us to re-examine the ever-changing wines from the natural conditions such as climate and geography.
It varies from place to place every year.
With the continuous integration of the world economic system, wine has gradually become a global commodity. In addition to the traditional blessing of France, there are Italy, Spain, the emerging United States, Australia, South America and so on. These countries have become the main producing areas of wine.
However, most of these countries have relatively stable climates, and France is still the best representative when it comes to the influence of changeable weather on wine.
France can be divided into three main climate types due to the change of land type: the first is the Mediterranean climate zone in the south, because it is close to the Mediterranean, the weather is warm and sunny, and the wines brewed are usually of high alcohol content, such as Provence; The second is the temperate maritime climate zone near the Atlantic Ocean, where the weather is wet and cold, and the wine structure is solid, such as Bordeaux; The third is in the inland continental climate zone, which is dry and cold in winter and mild in summer and autumn, so the wine brewed is elegant and meticulous, such as Burgen real estate area.
After understanding the basic geographical conditions, it is easy for everyone to realize that it is difficult to brew so-called "good wine" in the same year under such a changeable climate model.
Unless God was particularly kind in that year, such as 1990, almost all France produced "good wine", otherwise it should be distinguished from the grape harvest reports of various producing areas in that year.
Weather factors affecting annual variation
When most people drink, most of them are under lively and happy or romantic candlelight, so few people associate wine with the weather or soil when drinking.
In fact, grapes are not only crops, but also inseparable from nature. In addition to the location of vineyards, climate change also has a great influence on wine body, and there are many factors affecting grape growth. Let's have a look!
Temperature-In France, which is located in temperate climate zone, grapes tend to grow slowly because of low temperature.
Temperature deeply affects the growth of grapes. For example, grapes germinate in spring after a hibernation period below zero. If the temperature was not below zero that year, the grapes would not germinate and develop well.
In addition, the temperature affects the maturity and acidity of grapes, and the temperature is high enough to make the grapes sweeter when they grow.
Is the higher the temperature the better? Of course not. If the temperature is too high, the grapes will stop growing, and the immature grapes will dry out, making it impossible to make wine.
Sunlight-This factor affects the color, tannin and thickness of grape skin.
The color and tannin of red wine come from the skin. If the sun is not enough and the skin cannot produce a lot of red pigment, then the color of the brewed red wine is not beautiful enough.
Take 1996 as an example. In that year, the Bordeaux producing area was sunny, but the temperature was extremely low, so the wine with solid structure and strong Bordeaux classical flavor was brewed.
Rainfall-Rainfall depends on the growing period of grapes. If they germinate, they need a lot of water to make the leaves grow. They can't rain too much when they bloom, or they can't bear fruit when they spend.
Another theory is that there should not be too much rain in the harvest season, otherwise the taste of wine will fade.
Actually, it depends on whether the grape skin is thick enough. For example, the Merlot skin of 1998 is very thick, and the impact is not as great as expected, so it is not absolute whether it will rain, but how it will rain.
Humidity-This factor usually refers to rainfall and moisture content in the air. If it is too wet, vines are easy to get sick, especially mold.
However, if it is not wet enough, pythium expensive in Suodian district, which produces sweet liquor, will not grow smoothly, so proper humidity is still necessary.
Freezing injury-this is something that grape farmers are quite unwilling to encounter. When there is too much frost, the yield of grapes will be reduced, and the ripening of grapes will be delayed, which often leads to the poor maturity of grapes in that year and the inability to brew wonderful wines.
Hail-this is also a terrible natural disaster, which reduces the yield of grapes, and the brewed wine often has a stalk taste, which affects the quality.
Challenge the myth of the year
After a brief understanding of land types and climate changes, let's think back to that year.
Is "year" an indicator of buying wine? Answer: "The year is an indicator of buying wine, but it is not the only indicator.
Because the year is actually much more complicated than expected, like other wines brewed from grapes, such as champagne and port wine, most of them have no year.
There is also a crooked neck wine that wins by bottle, and the year is deliberately removed.
Why not emphasize the vintage of these wines? Take crooked neck as an example. Because it is a wine from Longhe producing area, the climate is stable, so the taste is very close every year. Therefore, instead of emphasizing the consistency of quality and taste like spirits, it is no longer a good year but a bad year, but it is getting better every year.
Another example is Argentina in South America, where the climate is desert, so as long as the snow irrigation is well controlled, almost every year is a good year.
Because the quality is very close, losing the annual reform is a disadvantage, but it is an advantage for consumers who like a certain quality.
The importance of that year is no longer absolute, and consumers can broaden their horizons. For example, 1997, although the year score is not good, many good red wines still appear in some areas, with dark color, rich tannins, balanced taste, good alcohol content and long storage time.
The published year evaluation table can be used for reference, but the most important thing is to judge for yourself after drinking, rather than blindly "what experts say." After all, it is the consumers themselves who enjoy alcohol.