Just when you’ve mastered the nuances of the North Fork and Napa, when you’ve bonded with Argentine malbecs, and when you know the left and right banks of Bordeaux like the back of your hand, along come Eastern Europe, Russia, China, Brazil and India—new frontiers in wine.
So what wines are we going to be drinking in the Hamptons in the next few years?
Long Island just had what is perhaps its best harvest ever. Expect to be drinking the 2010 vintage: some whites as soon as this spring, and reds over many years. If the reports are true these will be wines with a future.
Bordeaux is sending out good news. After great harvests in 2000, 2005 and 2009, they are claiming that 2010 is another extraordinary year. The finest Bordeaux need time to mature, so be patient.
Napa and Sonoma and other California wine regions are reporting one of the worst harvests in a long time. But there are plenty of good West Coast reds in the pipeline from previous years.
Australia has been dealing with an oversupply in recent years. This may actually improve quality.
Spain, Italy and Austria are offering good wines at reasonable prices.
As for Brazil and India and those other places, producing wine might be a status symbol like a BMW or a Vuitton bag. I leave it to another generation to taste and judge.