It’s harvest time again for most of Europe’s wine growing regions and grapes are being picked from the UK in the north to Sicily in the south. The grapes are then sorted and pressed to make the best juices possible. These juices will then be fermented in a choice of barrel, be that oak, concrete, clay or stainless steel, to make wine ready for blending and bottling in the spring.
The harvest determines the vintage, with variation in weather leading to changes in the appeal of the wines. Colleagues and I have published new research which examines this variation, looking at how quality is affected by temperature and rainfall.
