the hatch 2016 ‘Lifecycle of a Hobo’ Hobo Series, The Hatch, The Hatch Wines

Müller-Thurgau is a white grape variety (sp. Vitis vinifera) which was created by Hermann Müller from the Swiss Canton of Thurgau in 1882. It is a crossing of Riesling with Madeleine Royale. This grape been created from a desire to harness qualities in two separate grapes and to generate a new vine that combines the qualities of both. Knowledge is power, but what does this have to do with me and my busy lifestyle you might be asking ? Now to you I ask, lifestyle or lifecycle?

In the advent of the BC wine industry, grapes like Muller-Thurgau (a class of grapes now refereed to as ‘hybrids’ were all the rage. They were suitable to our climate, and produced prodigious yields yet were looked upon as 2nd class citizens of the wine world even then. In the 80s and 90s, as we modernized our wine industry these workhouse grapes were especially scorned and were systematically eradicated from the valley. But what was old is now new again, and the few remaining patches of now noble and old vines have been rediscovered and revived, with an onus on capturing the unique spirit these varieties can express when treated with care and respect.
That is how you become a hobo, and that is why we are celebrating the ‘lifecycle’ of this grape variety while we still can.