News bites 2: Wet weather, mediocre vintage

Winemakers in Tuscany and Puglia told Domenico that a solid month of wet weather had resigned them to a poor vintage, in sharp contrast to the excellent 2006.  (Barrel samples of 2006 proved them right: wow.)  "Early harvest, low yields, thin wines."

Adding to the pain is the devastation wrought by hail in patches of Chianti.  In several zones the vines were stripped of leaves, hanging on their wires like starving penitents.  We can infer that the unscathed producers will have a jolly excuse to bump up their prices. 

Agronomists are extra vigilant in their battle against mildew and rot.  The vineyards smelled strongly of sulfur.  The soil had the consistency of cake dough. 

They and we can only hope that a new weather regime will arrive to improve the situation.