What factors affect the flavor of wine? The year it was made certainly has an impact, as do the growing and bottling techniques. One factor that you may not realize is the temperature of the region in which the grapes were grown. Did you know that wine is grown all over the world? When you think of wine making, you may picture sun-soaked vineyards in California or Tuscany, but in truth, vineyards as far north as Canada produce delicious wine. Wine grapes need climates that aren’t too dry, too tropical, or too frigid, but they thrive in both cool and warm climates. How does cool climate wine differ from warm climate wine?
In warm climates, the temperatures tend to be consistent throughout the season. Summer days slowly cool into fall, giving grapes plenty of time to become fully ripe before they’re harvested. This yields wines that are deeply colored, sweet, or even jammy in flavor. They’re also higher in alcohol than cool climate wines.
Cooler climates aren’t cool all year long, of course, and they can be just as hot as warmer climates in the peak of summer. The temperatures drop quickly as harvest approaches, though, preserving the acidity of the grapes but making it more difficult for them to ripen. Thus, cool climate wines tend to have tart, crisp flavors.
Growing wine in cooler climates is more challenging, because of lower-yielding vines and the dangers of frost events. Sometimes the summer growing season is too short or cool for the grapes to ripen fully, and sometimes winter weather kills the vines. All these factors create variation between vintages, so you may want to try wine from a few different years before you decide whether it’s for you. If you consider that examples of cool climate wine growing regions include Chablis, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Germany’s Mosel Valley, you’ll understand why wine growers are willing to take the risks associated with colder weather to produce some of the world’s most spectacular wines.
If you’re interested in tasting delicious cool climate wines from a boutique winery closer to home, you owe it to yourself to check out Aurora Cellars. Sibling-owned-and-operated, Aurora Cellars is on a unique and exciting property in the heart of the Leelanau peninsula, where compact clay soil and rolling hills provide the perfect place to grow and produce world-class wines. Contact us through our website for more information or make a reservation for a tasting in our exquisite tasting room.
