1962

In 1962, cars continued to evolve as more compacts appeared and sold well in the United States. The Cold War continued to escalate when the Russians placed ballistic missiles on Cuban land just 90 miles from the coast of Florida and JFK called the bluff by threatening war unless they were removed, what they were, but for a short time the world was on the brink of nuclear war and self-destruction. The president then set a goal of landing a man ...

Bordeaux Vintage Report by Tb / If 1962 was also a fabulous year, it fell irrevocably in the shadow of 1961. The cold winter, with its biting frosts, allowed the vines to get a well-deserved rest after their hard work in 1961. The growing season started three weeks late. When the vines finally sprouted in mid-June, the weather improved. Toward fall, the weather warmed measurably, with the resulting drought ultimately having a negative impact on the vines. The few bountiful September harvests arrived just in time to save the grapes from vine wilting. The harvest, which resulted in the largest harvest of the 1950s and 1960s, did not begin until October 1. Few people believed that the vintage would be as good as it became. An excellent vintage for dry whites, reds and Sauternes. As for Sauternes, the year 1962 is clearly better than that of 1961. The best reds were Cheval Blanc, Pétrus and Mouton-Rothschild. A common characteristic of the best wines from 1962 today is their serene and balanced appearance. Only a few show real body and complexity, but they work well especially as dinner wines, also because of their excellent availability and affordability. Even the best wines should not be decanted for more than an hour.

Australia / A year of below average precipitation due to a dry winter. However, summer rains in January and again in March made this an exceptional year producing exceptional red wines, despite the poor fruit set for Shiraz.

In 1962 there were 7,174 hectares of vines in the Barossa and 31,774 tonnes of wine grapes were crushed in that vintage.

The introduction of the first Barossa Spaetlese Riesling by Orlando in 1956 had ushered in a new era of late harvest and spaetlese styles which reached its peak in 1962.

This interest in Riesling also fueled cool climate viticulture in the Barossa, including the development of the Steingarten vineyard on the rolling slopes of the Eden Valley by Orlando and the redevelopment of Pewsey Vale by S. Smith & Co. The Barossa has continued to innovate in winemaking technology with the first use of atomic absorption spectrophotometry for wine analysis at Penfolds.

Using a SO2 vacuum method, Australia's first rosé wine was made at Kaiser Stuhl. The wine went on to win gold medals at Australian wine shows and became a popular new style of wine for consumers.

John Vickery introduced antioxidant manipulation of white wines at Leo Buring using an inert gas blanket of carbon dioxide and ascorbic acid as an "oxygen scavenger".

The 1962 was the first Grange Hermitage to be made primarily from fruit sourced from the Kalimna vineyard of Barossa - also one of the best! This year also marked a breakthrough in acceptance by wine judges and the wine drinking public of Grange.
The Australian Wine Research Institute has named its first winemaker, Dr CR Hale.

Vintage Report by Richard Geoffroy, Dom Pérignon /After a prolonged winter, the spring of 1962 was hit hard by storms and hail. The beginning of summer was cold and flowering was late and persistent. The good September weather continued well into the harvest, which did not begin until October 4.