With Maturity Comes... Better Taste?

While the left-coast furor over hang time and extended maturation rarely visits our cool-climate shores, New York is certainly feeling the heat this year. In the last three issues, both our analysis numbers and reports provide ample evidence that the warm weather in 2010 has resulted in early ripening and potential for longer overall hang time. Instead of the bright, lively, stillgreenbehind-the-pedicels fruit typical to our cool climate, winemakers are preparing for grapes more likely to exhibit mellower acidity, a richer, lusher palatecharacteristic found in grapes „of a certain age.‟ For the first time in years, New York is dealing with a harvest that is decidedly mature, and, in some cases, may even have the potential for over ripeness.