The BBC is reporting that climate change is leading more winemakers to produce non-vintage still wines, blending grapes from different years to cope with increasingly unpredictable weather. While vintage has long been seen as a mark of quality, extreme conditions like heatwaves, wildfires, and frosts are making single-year production more difficult. To maintain consistency and avoid spoilage, respected producers in California and Italy are embracing non-vintage blends, despite lingering stigma.
Winemakers such as Chris Howell in Napa Valley and Riccardo Pasqua in northern Italy have turned to multi-year blends after facing climate-related challenges. Both argue that blending across vintages allows for a more stable and expressive wine, even as weather extremes become the norm.
According to Master of Wine Dawn Davies, wine drinkers fall into three groups when it comes to vintage perception. Most casual consumers, particularly those spending under £15 per bottle, don’t pay attention to the vintage at all. At the other end, industry experts and knowledgeable buyers recognise the value and necessity of non-vintage blends amid tougher growing conditions. In between is a group that remains loyal to the idea of vintage, often resistant to change, much like they were with the shift to screw caps. Davies notes that most wines are blends in some form, so blending across years is a logical next step in adapting to a changing climate.
If you think this might degrade wines, food for thought (or should it be ‘Drink for thought’?) is that one of my Top Wines at Any Price is the £600 Único Reserva Especial that is non-vintage, but not because of climate change.
