Wine Varieties

After contending with a severe drought between 2015 and 2017, Mzansi’s wine industry faces higher average temperatures, more severe heatwaves and a shifting rainy season. But while producers in other parts of the world are shielding themselves from climate change by moving into cooler territories, this is less of an option for local winemakers, experts say. 

Professor Nick Vink, an agricultural economist at Stellenbosch University. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

As a result, climate change adaptation will be key to the sector’s long-term prosperity, and producers are likely to gravitate towards warmer-climate wine varieties such as cabernet sauvignon, rather than cooler-climate varieties such as chardonnay.

Nick Vink, a professor in agricultural economy at Stellenbosch University, says the sector will have to manage the levels of alcohol in wine.

“Two main focus points are in the vineyard (techniques that mitigate increasing temperatures such as canopy management, cover crops for moisture retention, trellising systems, planting aspect – alignment to sunlight – and so on) and the changes in the harvesting season.”

The renowned agriculturist tells Food For Mzansi that in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape, at least, temperatures have already risen by almost 2 degrees Celsius, and the harvest is easily three weeks earlier than a few decades ago.

Vink’s views come after researchers quantified the role that human-caused climate change played in an intense late frost episode that damaged agricultural lands in France in early April. Vineyards in particular were severely affected, with early assessments estimating losses of almost 2 billion Euros.

The French study showed that while global warming made the cold wave more likely, it is also shifting the growing season earlier into the year.

This is problematic because during the bud-burst stage, vineyards are especially susceptible to frosts. So while temperatures have generally increased in recent decades, crops are maturing earlier in the year, leaving them more exposed and vulnerable to low temperatures.

The researchers, including scientists from the University of Oxford, concluded that overall, human-caused climate change made the damaging frost event in France about 60% more likely.

Warmer-climate wines

Dr Peter Johnston, climate scientist and researcher at the University of Cape Town, says the increasing frequency of heatwaves in South Africa places additional stress on crops and affects the amount of sugar in grapes.

Dr Peter Johnston, climate scientist and researcher at the University of Cape Town. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

“Aside from increased temperatures – and the increased risk of droughts and thus water storage, with water issues affecting some of the Western Cape’s wine-growing regions more than others – rainfall seems to be shifting later into the growing season, which can promote pests and crop diseases. 

“Wine producers in the Northern Hemisphere are pushing further north into cooler territories, and a similar trend is underway in the Southern Hemisphere, with producers pushing south.

“However, this is less of an option in South Africa due to geographical constraints and inadequate soil types. In this context, local wine producers are increasingly leveraging shade netting and technologies to monitor and preserve soil moisture, among other interventions.”

However, as climate change advances, it’s likely that Mzansi will produce more warmer-climate wines such as cabernet sauvignon, than cooler-climate Bordeaux-type wines, predicts Johnston. He says considering that crop varieties can’t be changed frequently, this transition will need to be carefully managed.

“It’s also worth considering that as the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, this could actually have a positive effect on yields due to the fertilisation effect. 

“However, it could lead to a difference in the balance of starches and sugars in grapes. This could mean better yields but reduced quality of wine. This could have serious implications for vines, as wine is so heavily reliant on the grape quality in determining its price and profitability.”

What will farmers be planting?

Professor Stephanie Midgley is a researcher and project manager in agriculture, food security and climate change, and a climate change and risk assessment expert of the Western Cape department of agriculture. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

Meanwhile, Stephanie Midgley, scientist for climate change and risk assessment at the Western Cape department of agriculture, says, “Vineyards and wine are quite complex and people generally use the local terroir to make decisions, so you’ll start to see a shift in what farmers are planting and what they can make in certain areas.

“Cooler areas, where sauvignon are grown at the moment, will become suited to a different cultivar, but the areas that are really hot now, like where port is produced, may become unsuited for anything. In areas that are dependent on water, this is a big concern, and fire is an underestimated risk for vineyards that is not talked about enough.”

This view is shared by Sibusisiwe Maseko, senior agricultural analyst at GreenCape.

“The prolonged and severe drought that brought the Western Cape to the brink of day zero fundamentally shifted the agricultural sector’s attitude to climate change. Just within the wine industry, the drought had a devastating effect, from grape yields and quality to decreased profitability and employment on wine farms,” says Maseko.

Sibusisiwe Maseko, senior agricultural analyst at GreenCape. Photo: Supplied/Food For Mzansi

In response, farmers reached out to the Western Cape department of agriculture and organisations such as GreenCape to adopt more climate-resilient practices such as intercropping, mulching and the adoption of soil moisture monitoring technologies.

“Because of these interventions, water use in the sector has already fallen dramatically and remains below pre-drought levels. However, climate change remains a real risk to the agricultural sector, with extreme weather events expected to increase in volume and severity. We will continue to support the government in driving climate change awareness and in ensuring that all projects have an element of climate change mitigation and adaptation.” 

ALSO READ: Climate change: 2025 food security targets at risk

Sign up for Mzansi Today: Your daily take on the news and happenings from the agriculture value chain. 

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Wine bars are such stellar spots for date night. So, here are some great date night-worthy wine bars in Orlando for couples who love wine, sultry spaces, and good company.

Imperial Wine Bar & Beer Garden

1800 N. Orange Ave
Orlando, FL 32804
If you’re looking for a wine bar in Orlando with a cozy, neighborhood feel, look no further than Imperial Wine Bar & Beer Garden. By day, this space is Washburn Imports, an exotic furniture store boasting some pretty spectacular pieces from around the world. At night, a wine bar emerges where you’ll find an extensive wine list, featuring reds, whites, sparkling wines and dessert ports. They also have an extensive craft beer menu (draft, bottled and canned) and lots of small bites, like flatbread and charcuterie platters, to nosh. Imperial also has locations in Winter Park (170 E. Morse Blvd) and Sanford (116 E. 1st Street) that are just as lovely.

Imperial Wine Bar & Beer Garden

Quantum Leap Winery

1312 Wilfred Drive
Orlando, FL 32803
Located near Mills Avenue, Quantum Leap Winery is “Florida’s only sustainable winery.” Quantum Leap Winery’s production model, which blends grapes from around the world onsite, reduces the carbon footprint associated with traditional wine production by utilizing low-carbon footprint vessels such as kegs, pouches or boxes. The place has a rustic, down-to-earth feel with wooden barrels everywhere and dimmed lighting. The Tasting Room is open Tuesday through Saturday. Check the events calendar for fun periodic events, like Wine & Yoga and Wine & Foot Massages.

Eola Wine Company

430 E. Central Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32801
Located just a hop, skip and a jump away from Lake Eola Park, Eola Wine Company is a wine bar that focuses on serving small production and boutique wines. The wine menu features 50 wines by the glass, an extensive reserve list available by request and more than 100 retail selections. They also have a beautiful patio to sit outside on and enjoy a glass of wine and light bites under the stars.

Image credit: Eola Wine Company

Vines Grille & Wine Bar

7533 West Sand Lake Road
Orlando, FL 32819
Ideal for music lovers, Vines Grille & Wine Bar is a terrific place to enjoy a glass of pinot noir while enjoying live jazz music, which plays every night at the restaurant. With a wine menu more than 20 pages long, Vines features selections from almost every continent, every varietal and by a variety of increments (they even offer half bottle portions). They also serve dinner and have an award-winning happy hour food/drink menu.

VINIA Wine & Kitchen

444 W New England Ave #119
Winter Park, FL 32789
This couple-owned wine bar and restaurant is tucked away in Hannibal Square, not far from Park Avenue. Scratch-made tapas and entrees compliment the impressive European wine selection, while cozy booths and live music on Thursdays create the ideal date night atmosphere. The dessert flight is one of our favorite menu options, and you absolutely need to upgrade it to include the dessert wine flight pairing, too. 

Dessert flight paired with wines (changes seasonally)

The Wine Room

270 S. Park Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789
An area favorite, The Wine Room features more than 156 hand-selected wines available to sample via DIY wine dispensing machines. With a wine debit card that you add whatever denomination you choose to, you’ll sip your way around The Wine Room via one, two-and-a-half or five-ounce pour sizes, priced accordingly. Hold on to your card because it’s reusable and trust me, you’ll be back to reuse it.

The Parkview

136 S. Park Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789
Located in the heart of Winter Park on Park Avenue, The Parkview is a wine bar with a relaxed atmosphere and a great food selection to go along with its vast wine list. Go there for brunch (mimosa flights!), stop in for an after-work flight of wine or enjoy a full dinner. This place has it all!

The Wine Barn

959 W. Fairbanks Ave.
Winter Park, FL 32789
The Wine Barn is more than just your everyday wine bar; it is heaven for wine lovers. Not only do they have hundreds of wine varieties, stacked to the ceiling, Wine Barn also has amazing wood-fired pizza. You can order a pizza and then purchase a bottle of wine, which the staff will chill for you and serve.

Image credit: The Wine Barn

Spill

1196 Tree Swallow Drive, Ste. 1314
Winter Springs, FL 32708
Spill is a small spot in Winter Springs that has a vast list of wines to choose from along with an artisanal cheese platter that is so delicious. They also serve wine cocktails—like sangria and prosecco split. It’s a wine bar started by locals and made to have that “local feel” to it.

The Attic Door

8 W. Plant St.
Winter Garden, FL 34787
Self-proclaimed as the “swankiest little wine bar and live music venue,” The Attic Door looks just like a normal lounge bar from the outside but once inside it’s classy meets whimsical. The lounge is filled with mixed and matched chairs, sofas and leather couches, along with unique pieces of décor and draperies hung everywhere. Add to that live entertainment and you’ve got the perfect ambience for a great date night.

More wine bars in Orlando we love…

Grape & The Grain Wine Bar
1110 Virginia Dr
Orlando, FL 32803

Swirlery Wine Bar
1508 E Michigan St
Orlando, FL 32806

The Vineyard
4848 S. Apopka-Vineland Road
Orlando, FL 32819

Digress Wine
1215 Edgewater Dr
Orlando, FL 32804

Jazz Tastings
164 Lake Ave.
Maitland, FL 32751

Feature image credit: The Wine Barn

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Introduction

1. This Bi–Annual Report on the Government Hospitality (GH) wine cellar is published as part of the commitments made by the previous government following the review of the GH wine cellar in 2010, the results of which were announced in May 2011. The report is designed to offer a transparent and comprehensive overview of the usage, value, costs and stock levels of the wine cellar, as well as broadening the understanding of how the cellar is used to support the work of Government Hospitality in delivering business hospitality for all government ministers and departments.

2. The report has also been prepared to offer insight into the management of the cellar and demonstrate the value for money that the cellar provides. The purchasing of wine at relatively modest prices and its retention until ready for use allow Government Hospitality to provide guests of the government, from home and overseas, with wines of appropriate quality at reasonable cost.

3. Government Hospitality is advised on the purchasing and management of the stock by an ad hoc advisory committee, the Government Wine Committee (GWC). Meeting approximately three times a year, the four Committee members of the GWC are Masters of Wine, and give their advice un-paid. The Chairman is a retired senior Diplomat, who is also un-paid.

4. This report covers the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2020. It was not possible for the annual report 2018-19 to be released prior to the preparation of the 2019-20 report, so the two have been combined.

5. Figures for bottles used and costs or values have been rounded up or down to the nearest whole number. No distinction is made between half bottles (37.5 ml), whole bottles (75 ml) or magnums (150 ml) of wine.

6. Wines are generally described by country of origin, but in the case of France and Germany, wines are defined by their region of origin.

History and background

History

1. The establishment in 1908 of the former Government Hospitality Fund to provide hospitality services for high-level visiting overseas government guests and domestic guests led to the requirement to structure the purchasing of wines for these events. In 1922, the constitution of the Government Hospitality Fund Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine led to the creation of the Government Hospitality (GH) wine cellar that still exists today.

2. The wine cellar has been located in the basement of Lancaster House for many years, although at various stages in the 20th century some of the cellar stock was housed in other government buildings (eg. Downing Street, Carlton Gardens, etc). After the outbreak of World War II, wines from the German Embassy were requisitioned and added to the cellar stock. For part of the war, the bulk of the cellar was re-located to Warwickshire for safe-keeping.

3. Lancaster House has been the working base for Government Hospitality for over a century. With the completion of the post-war refurbishment in the 1950s the house was used exclusively for government entertainment and large conferences and meetings. This is still the prevailing purpose of the house, now managed as part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office estate.

Background

4. The Government Hospitality wine cellar is a working resource that is used only to support Government Hospitality in its service delivery. Wines are bought young and relatively inexpensively and held in the cellar, so that they can be used when fully mature. Wines for use on large-scale receptions are bought in bulk on an ad hoc basis (usually 3-4 times a year).

5. The selection of wines for the cellar is carried out on the recommendation of the Government Wine Committee (GWC). Formerly a registered NDPB (non-departmental public body), the Government Hospitality Advisory Committee for the Purchase of Wine, the Committee was removed from the Cabinet Office list of NDPBs as part of the Public Bodies Reform process announced in October 2010. The Chairman (currently Sir David Wright, former Ambassador) and the 4 Masters of Wine members of the Committee make their selections for purchases based on blind tastings. The Committee has no budget. The Head of Government Hospitality ultimately decides whether or not to accept the Committee’s recommendations, depending on the balance of the cellar and resources available.

6. Wines are selected for use depending on the guidance offered by the GWC on grading, quality and readiness. Government Hospitality staff select the wines to be used on each event, depending on the nature of the event, seniority of the guests, etc. Ministers and senior officials hosting events do not select wines but are notified of the selections made on their behalf.

7. After the election in May 2010, the then Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs asked that a review of the Government Hospitality wine cellar be conducted, in-line with other areas of government expenditure, to ensure that the cellar was delivering value for money, and examine whether the running of a cellar was the most cost effective way to supply wines for GH’s business hospitality needs. The review concluded that the cellar was delivering value for money and was the most cost effective way to provide wines for Government Hospitality functions and State Banquets, but that reform was required.

8. The review recommended that:

• the Cellar should move to a self-financing regime for the medium term, with targeted sales of high value stock helping to pay for future purchases

• there should be an annual statement or report to Parliament on the use of the Wine Cellar, covering consumption, stock purchases, costs, and value for money

9. The first sales from the cellar stock took place in March 2012, delivering a £44,000 return to off-set the 2011/12 purchases of new stock, which totalled £48,955. The difference was covered by additional funds paid back to Government Hospitality by other government departments for work under-taken on their behalf. Sales have occurred every year since 2012 but were not possible in 2020 due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic in February / March 2020.

10. During the Financial Year 2018/19, sales of high value stock from the cellar delivered a return of £44,200 (cf. £50, 600 in 17/18), to off-set purchases to the value of £ 46,906 (cf. £56, 976 in 17/18). In addition, Government Hospitality was re-paid by other government departments for wines used to the value of £16,985

11. During the Financial Year 2019/20, sales of high value stock could not be completed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Over £50,000 worth of stock was identified for sale in March 2020, to off-set purchases to the value of £73,091 (cf. £46,906 in 2018/19). In addition, Government Hospitality was re-paid by other government departments for wines used to the value of £23,220.

12. Consumption levels in 2018/19 increased cf. 2017/18 (3,935 bottles). Consumption rose by approximately 2.8% to an overall total of 4,045 bottles of wine and spirits.

13. Consumption levels in 2019/20 fell cf. 2018/19 (4,045 bottles). Consumption fell by approximately 17.5% to an overall total of 3,336 bottles of wine and spirits.

Key points

(All statistics as at 31 March 2019 and 31 March 2020)

• the Government Hospitality wine cellar contained 32,078 bottles of wines and spirits in 2019
• the Government Hospitality wine cellar contained 32,921 bottles of wines and spirits in 2020
• total value of stock at cost £788,149 for FY 2018/19, and £810,896 for FY 19/20
• numbers of bottles used in 2017/18 and 2019/20:

	2018/19	2019/20
Wines	2,082	1,658
Reception Wines white	1,318	1,091
Reception Wines red	593	522
Spirits & Brandies	52	65
Total	4,045	3,336

	2018/19	2019/20
Revenue from sales of stock (see Sales below)	£44,200	£50,000 TBC
Repayments by other government departments for wines used	£16,985	£23,220
Expenditure on new stock (see Purchases below)	£46,906	£73,091
Value at cost of stock used	£57,780	£48,689

• English wines represent 49% of new purchases in 18/19 by value and volume, and 58% by value and 73% by volume in 2019/20.

Facts and figures

• the Government Hospitality wine cellar contained 32,078 bottles of wines and spirits
  as at 31 March 2019

• in March 2020 the cellar contained 32,921 bottles of wines and spirits

• total cost value of stock at 31 March 2019 was £788,149 (cf. 17/18 £802,340)

• total cost value of stock at 31 March 2020 was £810,896

• estimated market value of stock at 31 March 2019 £3.269m (cf. £3.290m 17/18)

• estimated market value of stock at 31 March 2020 £3.208m

• consumption rose by 2.8% in 2018/19

• consumption fell by 17.5% in 2019/20

• bottles used in 2018/19 : 4,045 (cf. 3,935 in 17/18)
• bottles used in 2019/20 : 3,336

	2018/19	2019/20
Average cost per bottle used	£14.28 (18/19)	£14.60
Average cost per bottle of wine purchased	£15.24	£17.25
Total receipts / revenues	£61,185	£23,220

• bottles of English and Welsh wine used in 2018/19 : 2,133 (including reception wines) = 53 % of total
• bottles of English and Welsh wine used in 2019/20 : 1,867 (including reception wines) = 56% of total

Usage data

(see Annex A for detailed usage breakdown)

Summary

	2018/19	2019/20
Bottles of wine used	2, 082	1, 658
Bottles of Reception Wines (white) used	1,318	1,091
Bottles of Reception Wines (red) used	593	522
Bottles of Spirits & Brandies used	52	65
Total	4, 045	3, 336

Usage by wine varieties

	Quantity (bottles) 2018/19	Quantity (bottles) 2019/20
Alsace	18	17
Argentina	0	6
Australia	141	9
Austria	0	2
Bordeaux (Red)	248	257
Bordeaux (White – Sauternes)	12	26
Burgundy (Red)	134	110
Burgundy (White)	217	122
Canada	28	13
Champagne	13	83
English (White non-reception)	175	163
English and Welsh (Sparkling)	640	613
Loire	7	25
Mosel	15	35
New Zealand	75	21
Port	61	57
Rhine	5	6
Rhône	40	21
South Africa	210	45
Spain	0	10
United States of America	43	17

Spirits

	Quantity (bottles) 2018/19	Quantity (bottles) 2019/20
Cognac / Armagnac / Brandy	1	1
Gin	35	47
Whisky	2	16
Pimm’s	14	1

Reception Wines

	Quantity (bottles) 2018/19	Quantity (bottles) 2019/20
White	1318	1091
Red	593	522

Information on the individual costs of the wines used and purchased is not released to protect Government Hospitality’s commercial interests (Freedom of Information Act 2000, section 43 (2) exemption) and its ability to achieve significant discounts from suppliers.

Sales/revenue

In 2018/19 Government Hospitality sold stock direct to Farr Vintners Ltd. In total, a return of £44,200 was realised through sales.

The following items were sold:

Wines	Quantity
Château Margaux 1988	24 bottles
Le Pin 1986	12 bottles
Château Haut Brion 1989	12 bottles
Krug 1982 (Magnums)	6 magnums

In addition, GH took receipts for wines used on functions for other government departments (ie. events not paid for from its own budget) totalling £16,985.

Total receipts / revenues: £61,185

In 2019/20 Government Hospitality identified stock to sell valued in excess of £50,000. The advent of the Coronavirus pandemic prevented the sale from taking place. The sale revenue for FY19/20 will be rolled into FY 2020/21.

In addition GH took receipts for wines used on functions for other government departments (ie. events not paid for from its own budget) totalling £23, 220.

Total receipts / revenues: £23,220

Purchases

All costs for the purchase of new stock in 2018/19 were covered by the sales of high value stock items or monies recovered from other government departments for work under-taken on their behalf. In 2018/19 Government Hospitality spent £ 46, 906 on new purchases for the cellar, at an average cost of £15.24 per bottle. 49% of the wine purchased by volume was English or Welsh.

The following types of wine were purchased:

Reception Wines

	Quantity
Chapel Down Bacchus 2017	1, 440 bottles
Valpolicella Allegrini 2016	960 bottles

Wines

	Quantity
English / Welsh sparkling	72 bottles
Port	320 bottles
Red Rhône	264 bottles (equivalent)

Spirits

	Quantity
Gin	35 bottles
Pimms	6 bottles

The costs for the purchase of new stock in 2019/20 were covered by monies recovered from other government departments or directly funded from the budget of Government Hospitality, pending the outstanding sale postponed due to the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic. In 2019/20 Government Hospitality spent £73,091 on new purchases for the cellar, at an average cost per bottle of £17.25. 73% of the wine purchased by volume was English or Welsh.

The following types of wine were purchased:

Reception wines

	Quantity
Chapel Down Bacchus 2017/18	1,440 bottles
Valpolicella Allegrini 2018	480 bottles

Wines

	Quantity
English / Welsh sparkling	1064 bottles
English / Welsh still	588 bottles
Red Bordeaux	396 bottles
Port	204 bottles

Spirits

	Quantity
Gin	60 bottles
Whisky	5 bottles

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In a move that’s sure to delight way too many people, IHOP is adding booze to the menu at select locations. But settle down—there won’t be bloody Marys just yet. For now, the restaurant chain will serve beer, wine, and bubbly. (Toss some seltzer in, please.) CNN reports that for the very first time, IHOP is giving its franchise owners the option to add an alcohol menu designed by the company.

It’s worth noting that some IHOP franchisees have already been selling alcoholic beverages on their own, but it’s been their responsibility to pick the menu and manage the offerings themselves. If this beverage program rolls out at a location near you, expect to see beer like Blue Moon, Bud Light, and Corona, along with Barefoot wine varieties such as Bubbly Brut, Bubbly Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. There will be no hard liquor, as IHOP is trying to preserve the family restaurant feeling and avoid a bar-like atmosphere. No pancake fights for you!

Read more

IHOP’s hope is to get more business during non-breakfast hours, and if you remember, it has already tried various strategies to do this: most recently, it announced a Chipotle-style pancake bar concept called Flip’d. Then there was that whole jokey-looking “IHOB” rebrand that we all secretly knew, deep within ourselves, couldn’t be real—but the brand’s expansion into burger territory showed a desire to break out of its breakfast rut.

Right now the booze concept is in testing mode, and the first three restaurants to adopt the alcohol menu are doing so on a voluntarily basis. Two are in New Mexico, and one location in San Diego will be offering alcohol in September. I wouldn’t be surprised to see if this took off in many markets; alcohol has a higher profit margin than food, so franchise owners stand to make some money.

IHOP President Jay Johns confirmed to CNN Business that if this test run goes well, “we’ll hit the gas pedal and we’ll go much faster.” It’s likely not every restaurant will be suited to carry alcohol; Johns estimates that up to 1,000 out of 1,750 locations might eventually serve booze. It’s not just a plug-and-play operation, because IHOP has to convince franchise owners that the additional investment on their part is going to be worth it, with liquor licenses and staff training. And if that involves hiring new staff members, that might not be so easy at the moment. Are there any other chain diners you’d like to see serve alcohol? Denny’s? Waffle House? Waffle House is a good one.

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In 1961, Adam Tolmach planted a five-acre vineyard on land he had inherited from his grandfather in the wine-growing region of Ventura County, California, a few miles east of Santa Barbara. As an undergraduate, Tolmach had studied grape growing and winemaking (areas of study known as viticulture and enology, respectively) and then worked for a couple of years at a winery not far from his grandfather’s land. In 1983, he started producing his own wines, which he sells under the Ojai Vineyard label.

Over the years, Tolmach’s grapevines began to suffer. The plants lost vigor and the leaves dried. It turned out the vineyard was affected by Pierce’s disease, a sickness that had long plagued southern California, but had become more severe in the 1990s after the invasion of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, a large leafhopper insect that feeds on plant fluids and can spread a bacterium known as Xylella fastidiosa, usually just called Xylella (pronounced zy-LEL’-uh). This bacterium has existed in the United States since as far back as the 1880s, and over the years, it has destroyed at least 35,000 acres of the nation’s vineyards.

Adam Tolmach. Credit: Ojai Vinyard

Tolmach witnessed the slow but certain death of his grapevines. By 1995, there were just too many missing plants, he said. So he decided to pull out the infected vineyard. To continue making wine, he bought grapes from other producers. Tolmach became a winemaker with no vineyard of his own.

Every year, American winemakers lose about $56 million worth of vines, while government agencies, nurseries, and the University of California system invest another $48 million in prevention efforts, according to research published in the journal California Agriculture. At least 340 plant species serve as hosts to Xylella, though the bacteria only harm some of them. Across the globe, Xylella has devastated orange trees in Brazil and olive fields in southern Italy, and recently a newly identified species, Xylella taiwanensis, has been infecting pear trees in Taiwan. As of now, there is no permanent solution. Each time a Xylella species has invaded a new region, it has proved impossible to eradicate.

Countries have long fretted about the potential for infected plant imports to spread the bacteria, and more recently, climate change has been identified as an additional threat, pushing the disease vectors’ habitat north, both in Europe and in the U.S. As winters become warmer, experts say, Xylella could enter new territories, upending their regional economies and landscapes.

Yet there might be some hope. After 40 years of crossbreeding European grape varieties with wild grapes, a plant geneticist recently patented five hybrid grapes that appear to be resistant to Pierce’s disease. While scientists caution that it’s not yet clear how long the resistance will endure, wine producers like Tolmach hope that these new grapes will allow their vineyards to flourish once again.

A variety of grape species are indigenous to America, and a recent study suggests that Native Americans might have used them to make alcoholic beverages more than 500 years ago. In North America, native varieties tend to have thick skin and an astringent, peppery, acidic taste that is quite different from the grapes used in most wines.

In the 1500s, Spanish settlers brought Vitis vinifera, the common European grapevine for winemaking, to Florida. Farmers never succeeded in cultivating European grapes in the new territory — after a few years, the plants would just die. Then, in the 1860s, the Los Angeles Vineyard Society led grape-planting efforts in the Santa Ana Valley. By 1883, there were a total of 50 wineries and 10,000 acres of grapevines. Then, just a couple of years later, the grapevines had all died inexplicably.

In 1889, the U.S. Department of Agriculture instructed one of the first formally trained American plant pathologists, Newton Pierce, to figure out what was killing the European grapevines. Pierce studied the disease, eventually speculating that it was caused by a microorganism, but he never identified one. Still, in recognition of his effort, the disease was eventually named after him.

In the 1970s, a University of California, Berkeley entomologist named Alexander Purcell helped solve the mystery. At the time, researchers were beginning to think Pierce’s disease was caused by bacteria but had yet to pin down a culprit. Purcell and his colleagues proved the then-unnamed Xylella was responsible by growing the bacterium from samples taken from plants infected by blue-green sharpshooters, and then directly infecting healthy plants with the lab-grown pathogen. Over time, a more complete picture of disease transmission emerged.

The glassy-winged sharpshooter feeds on the green stems and leaves of grapevine plants, which contain water and dissolved nutrients, Purcell told Undark. If the plant is infected with Xylella, some of the bacteria linger in the insect’s needle-like mouthparts. The next time the glassy-winged sharpshooter feeds upon a grapevine, the insect can transfer the Xylella to the new plant. Inside the plant’s vascular tissues, the bacteria multiply, obstructing the normal flow of water and nutrients and interfering with the plant’s metabolism and physiology — a process that ultimately kills the plant.

In the late 1980s, Purcell mapped swaths of the U.S. and Europe by how conducive they are to disease spread. Knowing that Xylella do not thrive in regions with cold winters, that are far from large bodies of water, and that lack a disease-carrying vector such as the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Purcell drew out maps by hand. He then marked the regions with the right combination of geographic and climatic conditions to allow for Pierce’s disease to spread, noticing a pattern emerge.

At the time, the European Union was not very concerned about Xylella, though Purcell contends that the bacteria had almost certainly arrived in the region. In talks and at conferences, he warned that European countries were facing a great danger. He urged the E.U. to increase its regulations of plant imports. Those warnings went unheeded, Purcell said, and in 2017, Pierce’s disease was first detected on the grapevines of the Spanish island of Mallorca, jeopardizing the future of winemaking there. Today, Xylella is spreading through the Mediterranean region and other parts of Europe — just as Purcell predicted.

The glassy-winged sharpshooter spreads Xylella bacteria when it feeds on the vascular tissues of plants. Credit: Courtesy of University of California, Riverside

Alberto Fereres, a Spanish entomologist and researcher at the Spanish National Research Council, is concerned about the devastating effects of the European outbreaks, including one in southern Italy that has infected and killed 20 million olive trees, more than a third of the region’s population. “[Xylella] is present in many more countries than we indeed thought,” Fereres said, adding that his research group recently discovered that the bacteria have been present in Spain for more than 20 years, but for much of that time it only lived in plants that don’t show symptoms of the disease.

Fereres hopes at least some plants will adapt to the presence of the bacteria and that farmers will be able to control the indigenous European vector, the meadow spittlebug, by tilling the land to kill the bug’s juveniles and placing barriers or nets to separate the insects from susceptible plants.

So far, the U.S. has largely used insecticides to get rid of infected insects. The Temecula Valley in California, for example, experienced a severe outbreak of Pierce’s disease in the late 1990s. Back then, stakeholders managed to defeat the disease in less than two years by introducing specific pesticides into the farming of grapevines.

Matt Daugherty, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside, studied the resulting decline in Temecula’s glassy-winged sharpshooter population. He said the insect’s numbers remained low until around 2017, when the population exploded for a second time.

“Now the bad news is this,” Purcell said: “After about 18 years, the insect is now resistant to the insecticide.” In entomology, Purcell added, such resistance is common if the same insecticide is used year after year. He and Fereres maintain that pesticides are not a viable long-term solution to the problem. In some countries, this approach has also run up against public opinion. In Italy, for example, consumers have strongly opposed the use of pesticides on olive trees threatened by Xylella.

Rodrigo Almeida, a plant pathologist at the University of California, Berkeley, warns that climate change might worsen the situation: While low winter temperatures in many grape-growing regions have traditionally limited the spread of Pierce’s disease, the past few years have brought warmer winters, allowing Xylella to spread.

“With warming temperatures and warmer winters, you’re going to have sort of more disease where you already have it, and you’re probably going to see the range expand north as well,” Almeida said. Warmer temperatures favor greater survival of the insects and increase the likelihood that an infection will persist through the winter. Almeida added that it’s difficult to predict precisely how much the disease will increase and how it will impact the new territories, but that there is the possibility that the disease will find a home in areas where a dry climate combines with warmer winters.

“We’re expecting things to get worse and worse,” Daugherty said.

Yet, in territories where European grapes die because of Xylella, wild indigenous grape varieties that are not a good fit for winemaking thrive. Those plants bear a unique gene that prevents them from succumbing to the disease, and that specific gene could be a counteroffensive to the bacteria and might well change the future of winemaking.

In 1989, University of California, Davis plant geneticist and viticulturist Andrew Walker inherited grapevine seeds that he was told were produced from crossbreeding two known Vitis species. But as the plants grew, he soon noticed they were behaving weirdly. For one thing, their vines had sprouted fine hairs along the stems. More importantly, the plants proved resistant to Pierce’s disease. Walker decided to investigate. Perhaps, he speculated, the parent plants, which were still flourishing in an abandoned vineyard owned by his university, had accidentally crossbred with the native grapevines that were growing wild nearby.

Indeed, this turned out to be the case. Vitis arizonica grows wild in the southwest U.S. and Mexico, and Walker matched the genetic fingerprint of the male V. arizonica in his own plants. The wild plant carries a dominant gene that passes along Pierce’s disease resistant traits to its offspring.

Sensing that this could lead to breakthrough for new varieties of grapevine, Walker began the slow process of crossbreeding. This technique goes back about 10,000 years and involves selectively breeding plants and animals with desired traits. In this case, Walker wanted to cross disease-resistant V. arizonica with winemaking varieties like cabernet sauvignon.

A grapevine leaf affected by Pierce’s disease. As the plant’s vascular structure is obstructed by bacteria, the flow of water and nutrients is impeded, and the leaves become brown and dry. Credit: Agricultural Research Service/USDA

The first generation’s seedlings all carried the gene for disease resistance. Walker selected the highest quality among them, and when the plants flowered, he crossed them again with various V. vinifera varieties. He did this for four to five generations, reaching a point where 97 percent of the plant’s genome came from V. vinifera and 3 percent came from V. arizonica. It took Walker about 20 years to develop these new plants, five varieties of which have been patented and given out to a few producers, and sold through a handful of nurseries. Tolmach, the winemaker from Ojai, was one of the few lucky ones to receive them.

“I guess what’s shocking to me is that the quality is there — these can be standalone wines by themselves,” said Tolmach. In 2017, he planted about 1,800 plants on 1.2 acres with four of Walker’s varieties, and he recently bottled the 2019 vintages. (These vintages won’t be available until this fall, when they will be priced between $30 and $40 per bottle, which is comparable to his vintages that use traditional grapes.) Tolmach said that his new plants are healthy and thriving with no sign of the disease, and he’s now thinking of planting more on a 10-acre vineyard that he purchased in northern Santa Barbara County.

Matt Kettmann, a California writer and wine critic who has been following Tolmach’s work for years, tasted Tolmach’s wines produced with resistant grape varieties. He said they are unique and interesting wines with characteristics reminiscent of wines of European heritage. He described Tolmach’s 2019 wine using Walker’s paseante noir grape as tasting of “black cherry, mocha, clove, baking spice,” while praising its “smooth texture and rich mouthfeel.” “That one,” said Kettmann, “was really kind of impressive to me.”

Kettmann anticipates that the new wines will be appreciated by connoisseurs, but he wonders how the larger American market will respond. Europeans emphasize the value of terroir — the taste imparted to a wine by a particular region’s soil, topography, and climate. Americans, on the other hand, tend to care more about the variety of the grape, like pinot gris, cabernet sauvignon, or zinfandel — and Walker’s varieties are entirely new.

“Tradition is a huge consideration in choosing wine varieties for winemaking. Can you name any new grape varieties introduced during the last 50 years that are now widely used for wine?” wrote Purcell in an email.

It’s also not clear whether new genotypes of Xylella might evolve to infect the hybrid grapes, Purcell and Fereres wrote to Undark. Currently, only a single gene confers the resistance. For this reason, it might be necessary to incorporate new resistance genes by crossbreeding additional varieties of grapevine, said Purcell.

Still, growers like Tolmach are excited by Walker’s resistant varieties, and some are planting them in areas that have been impacted by Xylella, Walker said. Though Tolmach has made wines with the new grapes exclusively, he suggests many wineries may opt to blend the grapes with other mainstream varieties.

For his part, Walker believes that any skepticism about his grapes’ novelty will fade in the face of climate change. “It is going to force people to reevaluate how we improve grapevines,” he said.

Agostino Petroni is a journalist, author, and a 2021 Pulitzer Reporting Fellow. His work appears in a number of outlets, including National Geographic, BBC, and Atlas Obscura. Find Agostino on Twitter @PetroniAgostino

A version of this article was originally posted at Undark and is reposted here with permission. Undark can be found on Twitter @undarkmag

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Champagne vineyards have faced a difficult year due to incessant rainfall and climate change in the past months. This has led to fungus infestation in grapes and leaves. The period after heavy rainfall has caused leaves to dry up due to mildew fungi. Earlier, about 20-25 percent of the Champagne vineyards had been damaged by frosts in the previous season.

Climate is both friend and foe for the Champagne-making industry. Producers have contended a potential threat of global warming on a daily basis. Climate change has largely affected Champagne vineyards in the past three decades. Grapes are susceptible to changes in climate. The average rise in temperature has been recorded as 1.1° Celsius, which has led to the early ripening of grapes.

Grapes grow in narrow geographical and climatic ranges where temperatures during the growing season average 12-22°C (54-72°F). It means global warming could impact the yield and quality of established wine varieties that were selected to best suit the local climate at the time of planting. “We know that ripening characteristics or profiles have changed. We’ve been accumulating more sugar and producing slightly higher alcohol wines and therefore wine styles have changed,” says Gregory Jones, professor and research climatologist in Environmental Studies at Linfield University, Oregon, in his TED Talk, ‘Climate, Grapes, and Wine’.

Downy mildew infestation in Champagne vineyards

Downy mildew is a disease native to North America, it is caused by the fungus Plasmopara viticola. Downy mildew infects young leaves as well as flower and fruit clusters. The disease mainly occurs in warm, humid regions such as Europe, and Eastern US. “Infections are most common on the foliage, especially young leaves while they are expanding. Leaves usually appear to be the first infected with light green or yellow spots on the upper surface. Lesions on older leaves in late summer have a characteristic “oil spot” appearance and a somewhat “mosaic-like” appearance of small angular yellow-brown spots confined by the leaf veins,” the Grape Grower’s Handbook informed.

The most expensive sparkling wine, Champagne covers only 9 per cent of the global consumption but 33 per cent of its value. About 250 million bottles are shipped every year from France to buyers across the world. The accidentally created drink now is one of the most expensive drinks in the world that has often been associated with royalty since the 17th century.

(Image: Johny Gorerend/Unsplash)

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For decades, California winemakers have long thought of the Winkler Index as gospel. Developed in the 1940s by two professors at the University of California at Davis (U.C. Davis), the Index uses regional climate conditions to determine the best places to grow a wide range of wine grapes.

With increasing pressures from heat and drought bearing down on the state, however, the Index may currently be horribly out of date. On July 22, U.C. Davis announced it would update the Index for the first time in more than 75 years. This new reality has profound implications for what we grow, make and drink in the future.

Professors A.J. Winkler and Maynard Amerine founded the Index to help the California wine industry recover following the repeal of Prohibition and loss of vines due to phylloxera. The Index became a standard way of thinking about which wine varieties to plant where and, over time, it was adopted worldwide.

A Stag’s Leap vineyard / Photo courtesy Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars

The Index classifies regions from I to V, going from coolest to warmest. It specifically tracks the amount of heat from the sun via average daily temperatures above 50°F between the months of April and October, the typical growing season for grapes in the northern hemisphere. These heat units are commonly referred to as “degree days.”

The original ranking classifies Region I as areas with less than 2,500 heat units. This includes Anderson Valley, Carneros, the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Maria in California, and Mosel, Burgundy and Champagne in the Old World. The Index lists Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer as suited to these growing regions.

Region V places have 4,001 or more heat units, with Fresno and Merced as domestic examples and Algeria and Palermo, Italy abroad. Sweet and/or fortified wines made from Grenache, Muscat Blanc and Palomino are recommended.

In between are such world-renowned places as Russian River Valley and Bordeaux (Region II) and St. Helena and Tuscany (Region III), where heat units/degree days range from 2,501 to 3,500.

This new reality has profound implications for what we grow, make and drink in the future.

When the Winkler Index was developed, the Napa Valley was considered predominantly a Region II and III, and deemed ideal for Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, 50%, or some 22,868 acres of it is planted to Cabernet.

But things are changing. Between 1895 and 2018, California has warmed an average of 2.3°F during the growing season, according to the 2018 Napa Vintage Report by Dr. Greg V. Jones. Now most of the valley falls within Region III and IV,  and some wonder if it’s at risk of reaching even beyond.

The Fay Vineyard was one of the first to be planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in southern Napa / Photo by M.J. Wickham

Environmentalist and legendary Napa Valley winemaker Warren Winiarski, 92, who produced the winning Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon of the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting, advocates for updating the Winkler Index. In July, he donated $450,000 to fund U.C. Davis’ research.

“Because we are in a period of climate change, we need more refined and comprehensive ways of measuring the effect of heat on plant physiology and grape maturity,” says Winiarski. “The development of new methods of measurement would be extraordinarily helpful. With better knowledge of changes in the compositional elements in the grapes in the vineyard, we’ll have better guidance on how to respond in the winery and create the wines we want to make.”

From the purview of his home above Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Winiarski has lived through both the 2017 and 2020 fires that affected the Napa Valley. He suffered the loss of a barn and two residences at his Arcadia Vineyard in Coombsville and had to evacuate during these events.

Warren Winiarski donated $450,000 to support U.C. Davis’ research / Photo by Robert McClenahan

Data collection has begun this season with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Remote sensing and sophisticated monitoring technology will capture plant growth, berry chemistry and other conditions more effectively than when the Winkler Index was created.

Growers and producers in the Napa Valley are expected to share some of the data from their own weather stations with the U.C. Davis researchers.

“There is a renewed interest to understand how to best mitigate climate change effects on existing vineyards and choose appropriate cultivars for the future,” says Beth Forrestel, an assistant professor in the U.C. Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology who is leading the research. “The new methods and data sources we’re bringing to this project will help us do just that.”

Others who support this refresh include Winiarski’s successor at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Marcus Notaro. He oversees the historic Fay Vineyard, among the first sites to be planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in the southern reaches of the Napa Valley.

“When Nathan Fay first planted the vineyard in 1961, common thinking was our area in the Stags Leap District was too cool for Cabernet Sauvignon,” Notaro says. “Updating this index using modern technology will be a great new tool to support our industry.”

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AN independent fine wine merchant is extending its ‘wine experience’ for customers by opening a dedicated bar next door.

Whalley Wine Shop, which also sells spirits and craft beers, is expanding into the on-trade by taking over the former Barclays Bank next to the shop in King Street, Whalley.

Owner Tom Jones said: “2020 was supposed to be a year of celebration for The Whalley Wine Shop, as it was our 10th anniversary with loads of events and tastings planned.

“Covid struck and all our plans were shelved. However, this gave us the opportunity to look at our long-term strategy, and how we could add something new and exciting for customers and for Whalley.

“Right from the outset we tried to make a visit to The Whalley Wine Shop an experience, creating a buzz, by encouraging customers to taste new wines through our ‘by the glass’ sampling machine, to explore new wine varieties and new wine countries and to learn about food pairing.

“We found that our customers absolutely loved the ambience of tasting and drinking wine in the shop, but with over 1,000 different wines on display and often over 20 wines to taste, the shop was frequently packed and it became clear we needed more space.

“We recognised that customers were having to stand and drink wines in a retail environment and what we needed was a dedicated space that wasn’t a shop.

“When the Barclays next door closed it seemed the perfect solution.”

Mr Jones and his wife, Jen, did not take lightly the decision to open a hospitality venue in the midst of a global pandemic, with sleepless nights aplenty throughout the process.

He added: “We had many a sleepless night debating whether it was a brave or a foolhardy thing to do, but everyone I talked to said it was such a good location and the shop has an excellent reputation.

“So we signed the lease on the day that Boris Johnson locked down the country for the second time. Crazy or what?”

Recruiting staff could also have been very difficult for the couple, as many in the hospitality sector have left the industry to pursue other careers as a result of the pandemic – though Mr Jones said he’s been ‘lucky’ to recruit such a good team.

Every drink customers enjoy in the bar will be available for sale next door in the Wine Shop – as well as a ‘tasting vault’, showcasing the bar’s rarest and most valuable beverages.

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Five of the best Maribor festivals

Locals will tell you that there’s no bad time to visit Maribor because there’s always something to celebrate. The city hosts dozens of events throughout the year, from classical music concerts and puppet shows to grape-picking ceremonies and street food festivals.

1. LENT FESTIVAL: Hosting more than 500,000 visitors each summer, the Lent Festival is one of the biggest multi-genre performance events in Central Europe. For two weeks at the end of June, a number of venues operate in the neighbourhood, including a floating stage on the Drava that hosts jazz concerts, ballet performances, theatre shows, folk music, comedy and much more. Street food stalls, meanwhile, serve regional delicacies from around the country. festival-lent.si 

2. THE OLD VINE FESTIVAL: This festival in late September serves as a tribute to a local vine that’s said to be the world’s oldest. Celebrations include wine-tasting events led by the region’s vintners. There are also food stands, brass bands and folk dancing. The event concludes with the ceremonial harvesting of the 450-year-old vine, followed by a public tasting of the freshly picked grapes in front of a crowd of hundreds.

3. FESTIVAL MARIBOR: Slovenia’s most famous classical music event sees the country’s biggest chamber and orchestral music stars come together for two weeks of nightly performances in September. The shows are staged in venues across the city, including the fin-de-siècle Union Hall and the Slovenian National Theatre Maribor. festivalmaribor.si

4. SUMMER PUPPET PIER: For over a century, puppet theatres have been a popular form of entertainment in Slovenia. Every August, Maribor Puppet Theatre hosts national and international puppeteers, who stage shows for adults and children alike. Puppet-making workshops and exhibitions are also on the programme. lg-mb.si

5. INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF CHILLI AND CHOCOLATE: It was Trappist monks who first introduced chocolate-making to Slovenia, in the late 19th century, yet few people outside the country have tasted Slovenian chocolate. This festival, held in October, aims to raise the profile of independent chocolate-makers in the country. Expect spicy chocolate cocktails, chilli-eating competitions and live music.

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The Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Mendel University in Brno has developed a simple procedure for identifying liquids, including food and drugs. The technique has promising implications for criminal investigations. Photo Credit: Mendelu.cz.

Brno, Jul 30 (BD) – Scientists from the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Mendel University in Brno have developed a simple technique for identifying samples of food and drugs according to their fluorescence, known as a “UV fingerprint”. This allows detection of cases where, for example, the technological process has changed during the production of juices, and also allows analysts to determine the origin of wine or drugs. 

This new procedure has a wide application, said Lukáš Nejdl, the head of the bioanalysis and imaging laboratory at Mendel University’s Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and also has promising implications for criminal investigators.

The technology is based on a simple principle, using the spectral characteristics of the sample. “We illuminate the sample with UV radiation and thus cause a number of interesting photochemical reactions that are specific to the sample,” said Nejdl. “After a few minutes, it is possible to say from where and what it originated, depending on the spectral characteristics, for example, whether it’s a variety of wine or a type of juice.”

Based on this principle, virtually any liquid sample can be illuminated, including biological samples, pesticides, food, clinical samples such as urine, serum, plasma, blood, or medicine, including drugs.

“We test individual samples and try to find applications in practice. We are also looking for partners in the commercial and public spheres,” said Nejdl. His team is so far working mostly with wines, specifically analyzing white wine varieties. From just a drop of commonly sold white wine, the UV fingerprint can identify the wine by comparison with the database. The new method can assist significantly in the area of ​​wine authentication, identification, and fingerprinting.

Researchers are also starting cooperation with the Czech Police, who have a new department trying to develop new analytical procedures from the work of forensic scientists, which could be used in the course of their investigations. The method is also suitable for detecting counterfeit drugs or profiling addictive substances in order to determine who prepared the drug.

“This method could have a very interesting future in forensic practice, as we would be able to detect different types of poisons and certain groups of drugs in the field. An interesting idea may be its use in the biological sector,” said Radim Pernický from the Prague Police Presidium’s Department for Science, Research and Innovation.

As with penicillin, the original discovery of ​​the Mendel University scientists was an accident. When they needed orange juice for their experiments, they noticed that samples of this drink always behaved differently. What seemed like a complication for the original experiment raised the unexpected question: what if someone needed to detect differences in seemingly identical substances?

Scientists are now expanding their efforts to include material chemistry, specifically the UV synthesis of a number of interesting nanomaterials.

https://brnodaily.com/2021/07/30/brno/uv-fingerprint-developed-by-scientists-from-mendel-university-may-help-with-criminal-investigations/https://brnodaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/UV_Fingerprint_Credit_Mendelu.cz_-1024×683.jpghttps://brnodaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/UV_Fingerprint_Credit_Mendelu.cz_-150×100.jpg2021-07-30T12:30:09+02:00Basak YirmibesogluBrnoNewsBrno,News,ScienceThe Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Mendel University in Brno has developed a simple procedure for identifying liquids, including food and drugs. The technique has promising implications for criminal investigations. Photo Credit: Mendelu.cz.

Brno, Jul 30 (BD) – Scientists from the Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry of Mendel University…Basak YirmibesogluBaşak
Yirmibeşoğlubasakkyirmibesoglu@gmail.comAuthorA Communication & Design student and feminist activist from Turkey. Passionate about journalism and love to write about politics, art & culture.
Brno Daily
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