Reflections on the 2020 Vintage from Shiraz Mottiar

Reflections on the 2020 Vintage from our winemaker, Shiraz Mottiar

"2020 was definitely a stunning vintage. If ever there was a summer to isolate from humanity in the vineyard, this was the one!

The growing season was quite slow to get going with the disturbingly more and more frequently asked question of “what month is it?” with weather showing up at unconventional times of the year. That said, having August weather in September and September weather in October isn’t all that bad for us winegrowers.

 

The summer was hot and dry and, as a result, the fruit has rarely been this clean and intense. What surprised me more than anything was seeing how the early season cool weather translated into the wines. Those early to mid-season varieties like Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Gamay display the brightness, character, acidity and energy of a cool vintage but with the depth of a warm one. The later varieties like Cabernet Franc are off the charts good with everything amplified (colour, flavour, depth and acid), although you had to be careful when to pick as the sugars never stopped climbing, a result of the small berry size maturing in a warm autumn.

 

Early results are in as we have already bottled some 2020 rosé and I am thrilled with the results. It will be hard to predict which varieties or styles will become the stars of this vintage (or decades — past and present) as each will have a fair shot to stake that claim. I’ve only touched on our core varieties, but there will be stellar examples of everything this year – sparkling, Sauv blanc, Pinot Gris, Viognier, Foch, Cab Sauv, you name it!"

Thank you Rick Vansickle,WinesInNiagara, for gathering the thoughts of close to 30 winemakers on the 2020 growing season. A great piece that is a must read! www.winesinniagara.com