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114.6

Degrees in Fahrenheit recently recorded in the southern French village of Gallargues-le-Montueux in the Languedoc-Roussillon. Grape clusters and grape leaves were burned to a crisp within a few hours. It was the hottest temperature ever recorded in France, and spells new anguish for wine regions beset by the disastrous repercussions of climate change.

House? Grower? Co-op?

“The minor miracle of wine is that it has evolved to the point where alcohol is perhaps the last element that gets the wine lover drunk. With wine, from a particular place and vintage, we can get drunk on history; anyone who has drunk a great wine twice their age will immediately relate to this. We can get drunk on place, recalling memories and associations with the region in which the wine was made. We can get drunk on remembrance: each wine naturally reminds us of previous occasions when it or similar wines were consumed, and this in turn can evoke countless memories of friends, meals and times past. Of course, wine lovers can get drunk purely on the lifted perfume of a great bottle or the textured, velvety mouthfeel and lingering flavors that scent the breath after swallowing.”

—Robert Walters, “The Wine of Astonishment” The World of Fine Wine, Issue 22

—Robert Walters, “The Wine of Astonishment” The World of Fine Wine, Issue 22

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