| 👋 Happy Tuesday and welcome to Grape Rush! This edition comes to you from a frigid, ice-patched Brooklyn, where I’m still thinking about warm moments shared at the recent ABV Ferments event in Oakland. If you haven’t already checked out, I wrote a few thoughts and feelings from ABV Vol. 4 and you can catch up on those by clicking here. I’ve got two new stories for you this week — one about work happening on a vineyard using PIWI grapes (that’s the German abbreviation for “Pilzwiderstandsfähig,” which essentially means fungal resistant) that’s striving to be super-sustainable; the other is about Silicon Valley Bank’s recently-released annual US wine industry report, which doesn’t mention the word “sustainability” … not even once. I think you’ll like them. Also! Some housekeeping. It’s important for me to take a beat and say thank you to everyone who’s signed up for this newsletter and also for sharing it. Grape Rush is growing — maybe even a little faster than I thought 🥲. I’ve fallen even further down the rabbit hole, and it’s cool to have people with me. As I learn more, my own aperture of neat things to write about is fast expanding. With that in mind, moving forward you can expect this newsletter to hit your inbox on a regular twice-a-month cadence. I’m aiming for every other Tuesday. A reminder that if you have story ideas, or if you know of producers, distributors, buyers, or any cool person in the next-gen winemaking space who’s got a voice you’d like to see in the mix, please let me know! If you like what you’re reading in Grape Rush, please share the newsletter with your friends! And, as always, feel free to drop your thoughts to me via email at chase@graperush.co |
| Sip-and-Paint |
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| In this edition of sticking wine prompts into an AI image-making tool, this is ‘a bottle of hybrid grape wine in the style of Vincent Van Gogh.’ |
| New on Grape Rush |
| 🏦 Six takeaways from SVB’s latest wine industry report — Silicon Valley Bank late last week released its State of the US Wine Industry 2024 report. I read through it and also tuned into the live, online presentation of it. I left with some takeaway thoughts. The firm’s own Rob McMilllan publishes this every year, and while it’s geared to a traditional winegrower and winemaking audience, there are usually some tidbits to glean that are applicable to the natural wine, and hybrid + native grape wine communities. 🇦🇹 ‘We will not grow European varieties again’ — A conversation with Selina Weratschnig of Weingut Ploder Rosenberg located in the Steiermark, Austria’s southernmost wine region. We talked about PIWI grapes, entrenched ideas about PIWIs, and their role in creating more sustainable vineyards. |
| What I’m Drinking |
| Writing about hybrid grapes leads me into a bunch of shops and bars to check out different bottles of wine. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve recently tried: 🍷 Hudson Chatham Winery, White Pet Nat (2022) — Really delicious Brianna grape pet nat that’s sweet, energetic, clean, and has a lot of fun in it in the form of tight bubbles. 🍷 American Wine Project, “Modern Optimism” (2021) — An orange wine made with whole-cluster St. Pepin grapes that’s been fermented with 100% wild yeasts and aged in neutral barrels. St. Pepin is full of stone and pome fruit flavors like asian pear and white peach. 🍷 North American Press, San Francisco Bay Rosé “L’Amalgame” (2022) — Giving yet another shoutout to this bottle. Truly fell in love with this wine, made by Chris Renfro of The 280 Project. Sourced from more than 100 different grapes found in Woodside, California. Find a full list of wines I’m trying and places I visit by clicking here. |
| “We have a long, long history with certain grape varieties. The idea that we could be changing our wine culture is uncomfortable to some people.”—Selina Weratschnig | Ploder Rosenberg Read the story on Grape Rush |
| The Back Label |
| In addition to tasting a bunch of interesting wine, I’ve also been doing some reading. Here are some of the items that caught my interest. 📖 “Meet PIWI Italia.” Wine News — A new organization was founded in Italy by the presidents of the regional PIWI associations there. The stated goal of PIWI Italia is to “raise awareness and broaden knowledge of resistant varieties and to lobby, including at the political level, for other regions to authorize them while respecting regional peculiarities.” 📖 “Research Identifies Traits That Could Advance Grape Breeding, Sustainability.” American Vineyard Magazine — In an effort to uncover critical traits that may accelerate grape breeding efforts to tackle climate- and drought-related challenges, researchers at the University of California, Davis, sequenced and assembled diploid, chromosome-scaled genomes from nine native North American grape species, including: vitis acerifolia, v. aestivalis, v. arizonica, v. berlandieri, v. girdiana, v. monticola, v. mustangensis, v. riparia, and v. rupestris. The work lays the groundwork for future advancements in grape breeding by identifying key genes responsible for certain traits. 📖 “How to Really Cultivate Young Wine Lovers.” Wine Spectator — Speaking directly to “established wineries, which often guard their turf against upstarts,” contributing editor Robert Camuto makes the case the the wine industry needs to create more space for young, independent winemakers. No mention of hybrids or native grapes — but that’s his oversight. 📖 “Great Britain just had its largest ever wine vintage.” Wine Enthusiast— The nation’s 2023 season has been declared a “miracle harvest,” with an estimated 20 to 22 million bottles of wine in production. It was the largest vintage on record by a long shot — a 50% increase from its previous record in 2018, when 13.1 million bottles of wine were produced. 📖 “How to define a good wine? It’s complicated.” The New York Times— Wine critic Eric Asimov dives into the complicated topic of what makes a wine ‘good.’ His write-up includes this: “Wine people used to speak of “noble grapes,” as if a small group of familiar grapes were inherently better than the rest. But in recent years we’ve come to understand that grapes long dismissed as mediocre, like aligoté or silvaner, can make fascinating, delicious wines when grown in better terroirs and farmed and made with care.” No mention of hybrids or native grapes, specifically, but interesting nonetheless. 📖 “What if Every New Year Is the Hottest on Record?” Wine Spectator — After 2023 delivered the warmest year in modern history, Spanish vintners are confronting drought conditions, and working to adapt and prepare for more climate change. 📖 “Get ready for more Nordic wines.” The Observer — PIWI wines — solaris! — and blueberry wines get some love in this piece by Brad Japhe on the rise of Nordic wine. |
| Until next time… |
| Thanks for reading! If you liked what you saw, please share Grape Rush with your network and encourage them to subscribe! And if this newsletter landed in your inbox because someone forwarded it to you, sign yourself up by clicking here. Catch up on the most recent coverage by clicking here.Have a story idea tip? Wine recommendation? Send them to chase@graperush.co 🍇 |