This is more for me than for you (sorry).

The Wine Press Northwest blog has an interesting entry today about the current weather in Washington state. aperdue explains that the highs in the 80′s and lows in the 50′s aren’t just sunny and comfortable, they’re essential for establishing good acidity in the ripening grapes. Read more on that.

I’m glad we live in a climate that is cool enough that the grapes have to struggle–even in the sunnier parts of the Columbia Plateau. In warmer places, winemakers have to practice acidification–that is, upping the acidity of their wine to make up for otherwise flabby, low-acid grapes. This is the opposite of chaptalization (which is slightly nicer-sounding in it’s French translation: amélioration), in which sugar is added to the wine to soften it up a bit.

For the most part, wineries in northern or cooler climates tend to turn up their noses at their southern brethren who acidify, but have no qualms with chaptalizing. Of course, the opposite is true in the hotter climes. Human nature and all.