Optimistically, with green shoots abounding all around, the corner must turn and days without constant rain, and containing a degree of warmth, will hopefully arrive shortly.
However, looking out this morning, the South Downs are shadowed in low cloud, the river is full and fast, with a distinct chill in the air.
Nevertheless, here is a wine that will accompany sitting in the garden before supper, while enjoying nuts, saucisson, biscuits dipped in olive oil, and savoury morsels.
An aperitif is meant to stimulate your appetite before eating and this well made number from the Loire amply ticks that box.
The wine is from Vouvray, an appellation that has flinty soils with clay and limestone across good drainage. The best vineyards are close to the river that acts as a moderating influence on temperature. The grape is the Chenin Blanc, the stalwart of the middle Loire.
At the far end of the viticultural Loire you have Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé based on the Sauvignon Blanc, and at the mouth of the river, before it arrives into the Atlantic, you have Muscadet based on the Melon varietal.
In the centre around Touraine, Anjou and Saumur sits around 70% of all the vines along France's longest river. The reds are from the Cabernet Franc, and the whites the Chenin Blanc.
Bernard Fouquet Cuvee de Silex Vouvray 2022
Bouquet of white stone fruits with a hint of limestone. Delicate, ripe acidity with flavours of limes, grapefruits, green apples, and apricots. There is a smidgeon, and I really do mean a smidgeon, of residual sugar that perfectly balances with the lively, zingy acidity creating a rather perfect balance. As a start to an evening, it lifts the senses and perhaps more akin to a Riesling than to a Chardonnay, with its linear, lean and racy character. Keep a bottle in the fridge and enjoy over the next five months.
£10.39 - Waitrose - on offer, usually £12.99
