The Lockdown Harvest
Hello! Remember me?
I won’t be offended if you don’t. My last post was almost two years ago, and a great deal has happened since then. To relieve you from having to read yet more on COVID-19, let’s take a quick trip down memory lane of notable world events since 2018:
- Harvey Weinstein was arrested and the #MeToo movement went global
- Jamal Khashoggi was murdered
- France won the FIFA World Cup (I’m still sad about this. itscominghome)
- The US ditched the Iran Nuclear Deal
- Saudi Arabia began issuing driving licenses to women
- Stephen Hawking died
- Donald Trump became the third President in history to be impeached
- Protests rattled Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Sudan, and Lebanon
- Fire devastated the historic Notre Dame Cathedral
- The UK left the EU (you didn’t think I would leave this one out, did you?)
It stands to reason that many other major world occasions took place; I am however disinclined to break the internet with an encyclopedic recap of the last 20 months so please accept my summary without remonstration.
What is top of mind for everyone — and what will likely stand as the biggest event of our lifetime — is the global pandemic we are currently enduring. I am hardly a qualified statistician or medical professional so will leave those analyses to the experts, but I am sure of one fact: Italy, a country revered for its history, art, wine, and food, has been utterly ravaged by the coronavirus.
Many of my favourite wines, grape varieties, and regions hail from Italy. My oenophilic dad used to import Super Tuscans so I suppose I can dismiss my expensive habit as a genetic trait.
I saw a joke online recently: “quarantine rules are like airport rules, you can drink at 9am if you want to”. While I certainly would not encourage a breakfast martini at the start of the workday, it is a statistical fact that the alcohol industry has enjoyed a spike in sales of north of 75% due to the pandemic.
As the world seeks to rebuild the economy once the storm has passed (and indeed the storm will pass), we may wish to spare a thought for the countries that have been hardest hit. Or at least that is the justification I offer myself as I fill my online cart to the brim with Italian wine.
The weather in New York (and London, I hear) is warming up so I have been stockpiling some of my favourite whites:
(1) Gavi: easy to love
Gavi is an area situated in Piedmont (which is also the home of Barolo). Made exclusively from the Cortese grape, this style is noted for its bone-dry character, crisp minerality, and fresh acidity. The aromas can be particularly floral — think lemon, peach, green apple, and honeydew. If the label denotes “Gavi di Gavi”, it means the fruit has come from the vineyards in the township of Gavi.
What I’m drinking: Villa Sparina Gavi di Gavi 2018
(2) Soave: underrated and undervalued
Soave is a region within Veneto and has a great deal of history — grapes have been grown in the volcanic hills near Verona since Roman times. This wine is produced using the Gargenega grape which offers flinty flavours of pear, apricots and almond. It offers a naturally rich consistency underpinned by fresh acidity.
What I’m drinking: Soave Monte Majore, Le Albare 2018
(3) Falanghina: bursting with personality
I have a soft spot for the unsung hero Falanghina. It is a grape variety typically cultivated on the coast of Campania, which is in the southern part of the country near Naples. Although wines produced from this grape can differ depending on where it is grown, they often share distinct flavours including banana, pineapple, and spice.
What I’m drinking: Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina 2018
As with almost every other industry, the global wine industry faces an unknown future in the wake of COVID-19. For wine producers in the Northern Hemisphere, now is prime time to prepare for the 2020 harvest. The violent explosion of the virus and subsequent lockdown across the west will undeniably impact the calibre of the 2020 vintage.
This illustrates one of the most beautiful aspects of wine: its unrelenting volatility and its lawless susceptibility to mother nature. Wine production, at the end of the day, is a delicate dance between mankind and the elements. Mother nature yields remarkable influence through the amount of rain, sunshine, and heat that she offers; man, through scientific and technological advances, is able to tussle with nature’s vicissitudes, but her dominance is indisputable.
If I take another two year break from writing, perhaps my next post will be an analysis of the 2020 vintage.
