Extreme weather

Here's a photograph of the Marqués de Murrieta bodega in Rioja last Friday, 31 January. This apparently is the coldest weather this northern Spanish wine region has seen in 50 years. There should be no implications for wine, unless the temperature drops so far below zero that some vines are killed – but this is extremely unlikely.

Richard Grant, export director at Marqués de Murrieta puts a positive spin on the snowfall which blocked roads and forced an end ot pruning operations:

'Snow is good for the vineyard at this time of the year as it helps kill any nascent...