A snippet from CropWatch
- Sauvignon Blanc at Lenswood is currently 0.5 Baumé (Bé) ahead of Macclesfield.
- Sauvignon Blanc at Lenswood is currently 3-4 weeks ahead of last season and 3 weeks ahead of Macclesfield.
- Pinot Noir at Lenswood is currently 4 weeks ahead of Vintage 23.
- Shiraz at Macclesfield is one week ahead of Vintage 23.
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Fumé Blanc
For the diehard Fumé Blanc fans out there, I have some excellent news for you!
It’s on the way back. Our 2023 Fumé Blanc will be heading down the bottling line next week (along with our 2023 Chardonnay!).
Thanks goodness. It’s been a long time between drinks for that one.
Most of us are familiar with Fumé Blanc (from the French words meaning “smoke” and “white”) being made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes in a style similar to Chardonnay.
But here is the rest of the story…
Fumé Blanc is a name that legendary Napa Valley winemaker Robert Mondavi developed for a wine style made with Sauvignon Blanc grapes during the 1960s. In those days, wines made with Sauvignon Blanc were very unpopular in America. They were considered too sweet, too sour, too grassy and generally unbalanced.
Inspired by the great French white wines (like wines from Sancerre of the Loire Valley), Mondavi knew he would be able to make exceptional wines with Sauvignon Blanc grapes. So, he created the name, Fumé Blanc. The style of wine he made had a deep oakiness with rich, more well-rounded sweet melon flavours. The wine became an instant hit.
Mondavi did not copyright or trademark the name, and other winemakers quickly began producing Fumé Blanc wines.
Anyway, there will be a bottle of it in your March Jockey Club packs. If you’ve been missing it, make sure to add a couple more bottles to your order. You can also shoot me an email and put away a stash for you!
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OPEN THAT BOTTLE NIGHT
One of my favourite dates on the wine calendar is coming up this Saturday (24th Feb).
It’s called…
“Open That Bottle Night”
It is the day you open THAT bottle. The one you’ve been saving for the “perfect” special occasion but, so far, have not got around to opening.
The idea was the work of husband and wife team Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher – American journalists, authors and wine critics. They jointly wrote the wine column “Tastings” in The Wall Street Journal between 1998 and 2009. In the late 90s Gaiter and Brecher invented the annual “Open That Bottle Night” (OTBN), encouraging their readers to open a symbolically significant bottle, and then share their stories.
OTBN is celebrated on the last Saturday of February. Life’s too short never to drink those special bottles. So why not open one on Saturday night?!
And if you’re into posting your bottles on social media… don’t forget to use the official hashtag #openthatbottlenight