Climate is the long-term pattern of temperature, sunlight, rainfall and wind in a wine region, and it profoundly shapes grape ripening and style. Cool climates yield lighter, higher-acid, lower-alcohol wines; warm climates give riper, fuller, higher-alcohol ones. Climate is distinct from the year-to-year variation of weather and the very local conditions of mesoclimate. It dictates which grapes can succeed where.
WHY IT MATTERS FOR COLLECTORS
Understanding a region's climate explains a wine's style before you taste it. Climate change is shifting boundaries, ripening grapes earlier and raising alcohol, reshaping classic regions and opening cooler new ones.
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