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Winery
Lady Lola Wines
Vintage: 2012
2012 has, so far been a positive year for wineries around the world. While it may be a little too early to speak of the wines being made in the northern hemisphere, European and North American wineries have already begun reporting that their harvesting season has been generally very good, and are predicting to continue with the kind of successes they saw in 2011. However, 2012 has been something of a late year for France, due to unpredictable weather throughout the summer, and the grapes were ripening considerably later than they did in 2011 (which was, admittedly, an exceptionally early year). French wineries are claiming, though, that this could well turn out to be advantageous, as the slow ripening will allow the resulting wines to express more flavour and features of the terroir they are grown in.
The southern hemisphere has seen ideal climatic conditions in most of the key wine producing countries, and Australia and New Zealand particularly had a superb year, in particular with the Bordeaux varietal grapes that grow there and which love the humidity these countries received plenty of. Also enjoying a fantastic year for weather were wineries across Argentina and Chile, with the Mendoza region claiming that 2012 will be one of their best vintages of the past decade. Similar claims are being made across the Chilean wine regions, where Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon had an especially good year. These two grape varietals also produced characterful wines on the coastal regions of South Africa this year.
Varietal: Pinot Gris
One of the most versatile and interesting white wine grape varietals widely grown around the world is surely the Pinot Grigio. This grape comes in many different shades and colors, and unsurprisingly, it can also provide a remarkable range of flavors and aromas in the bottle. It is a varietal quite strongly influenced by both the terroir it is grown in, as well as by the expertise and intentions of the winery which is processing it. As such, many Pinot Grigio wines are relatively sweet, due to their high level of natural sugar. However, they can also be very dry for the same reasons, and in many countries they are aged and mellowed, resulting in beautiful tawny amber tones and a very rounded, full bodied character quite unlike white wines made from any other grape varietal.
Region: Sicily
The island of Sicily is one of those wine regions which seems to be designed for the production of quality wines. Not only does it have extremely fertile soils, helped by volcanic activity of such peaks as Etna, but the climate is absolutely ideal for the ripening of beautiful grape varietals, with almost year-round sunshine and cooling sea breezes. Sicily has been using such factors for growing grapevines for thousands of years, and is a truly ancient wine region steeped in tradition. Wineries on the island make a wide variety of wines, which are much loved for their ability to express plenty of exciting fruit flavors and sunny, tempting aromas, but Sicily is most well known for the dessert and fortified wines based around the port town of Marsala.
Country: Italy
It isn't difficult to understand why Italy is famed not just for the quality of its wines, but also for the vast variety and range of characteristics found in the wines there. The terrain of the country varies wildly, from the lush rolling green hills and valley of Tuscany, to the sun drenched rocky coasts of Sicily, the mountainous and alpine regions of the north, and the marshy lowlands of the east. Italy really does have a little bit of everything. Combine this huge range of landscapes with an almost perfect climate for grape cultivation, and you have a country seemingly designed for viticultural excellence. The results speak for themselves, and it is clear to see that wine has become an inseparable part of Italian culture as a result of its abundance and brilliance. Each village, city and region has a local wine perfectly matched with the cuisine of the area, and not an evening passes without the vast majority of Italian families raising a glass of locally sourced wine with pride and pleasure.