Australia

07.17.23

‘When the Climate Doesn’t Cooperate, Winemakers Innovate’

For Liquor.com, Kathleen Wilcox examines how producers are combating soaring temperatures (and ABVs) to create fresh flavors. She highlights the climate-appropriate plantings taking place at SC Pannell in McLaren Vale and the Adelaide Hills. To achieve a fresher profile in a warming climate, Wilcox writes that Pannell uses “less of an emphasis on oak aging, which can mask, and even eradicate, the freshness and vivacity of the fruit, replacing it with vanilla, coconut, caramel, and smoke.” Steve Pannell adds, “We grow fruit, not oak. We have also dropped our sulfur levels dramatically. We bottle at less than 60 ppm [parts per million] total sulfur and even make grenache with zero sulfur. It’s magnificent.” Read more here.