A-G

Alicante Bouschet (variety)

Barbera (variety)

Beaujolais wines made from Gamay come from a region that is officially part of Burgundy with a climate closer to the Rhone valley. Beaujolais wines  undergo carbonic maceration and are released in three forms. Noveau, released on the third Thursday of November and sometimes bottled before it has finished, tends to lack body and is largely a marketing and publicity exercise. fermenting. Beaujolais Villages come from better, low-yielding the hilly central part of the district.  The wine will not have been pressed early and hurried through fermentation and is meant to be consumed while relatively young.. Cru Beaujolais originate from the best vineyards in the north-central part of the region can show concentration and longevity while maintaining the characteristic Gamay flavour and adding pinot-like characters, making them a good match for roast chicken or grilled salmon. These wines will be labelled as Brouilly, Côtes de Brouilly, Chenas, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Julienas, Moulin-à-Vent, Morgon, Regnié, and St. Amour rather than Beaujolais. 

Cabernet Franc (variety)

Cabernet Sauvignon (variety)

Carignan (Variety)

Carmenère (Variety)

Cienna (variety)

Coulure is a carbohydrate deficiency in plant tissues triggered by cold, cloudy, rainy weather in spring or very high out-of-season temperatures resulting causing  grapes to fail to develop after flowering. Grapevines need enough leaf cover to produce photosynthesis but not shade the grapes too much from sunlight. Cloudy or wet weather reduces photosynthesis during the flowering cycle and limited sunshine brings lower sugar levels, encouraging the vine to conserve sugars that would otherwise be channelled into developing berries. 

Warm temperatures can also encourage coulure in some varieties by encouraging shoot growth that competes with the berries for carbohydrates. In the same way very fertile vineyard soils, overly vigorous rootstock and severe pruning that limits the leaf surface and reduces photosynthesis can also bring coulure into the vineyard.

Coulure can also cause irregular bunches of grapes which are more sensitive to disease. Varieties that can have seriouus issues with coulure include Grenache, Malbec and Merlot.

Dolcetto (variety)

Durif (variety)

Frontignac (variety)

Gamay (variety)

Grenache (variety)

© Ian Hughes 2012