October 6th.  Napa, CA 71 degrees, Bordeaux, France 84 degrees.  Since arriving on Sunday, the weather has been almost uncomfortably warm.  In Bordeaux, the risk of rainy and cool weather in September typically increases.  Indian summers in the fall can save wet summers and rainy Septembers can ruin a fine summer.  This year, rain in mid-September was actually welcome.
The 2009 vintage is turning out to be one of those potentially great vintages with higher than average sunshine and temperatures and lower than average rainfall from June through September.  In August, …

Chablis, the home of the original un-oaked chardonnay, has always been near the upper limits of vine-growing at the 48th parallel.  It is the classic cool-climate region where spring and autumn frosts are the greatest viticultural risks and vintages really matter.  In addition to its northerly latitude, Chablis’ vineyards lie on both banks of the narrow and cold Sereine River and chilling winds from the Morvan Mountains in Burgundy contribute to the cold.  Vines are trained low to capture as much warmth from the ground as possible and the best sites are on south-facing slopes, up …