Harvest 2014 – Day 1

September 24th, 2014 | Harvest

Dawn on Day One 2014After many nervous days watching the weather, the start of our 2014 campaign actually came rather suddenly! For the previous two days almost every weather site that I had visited predicted rain, an 80-90% probability. However, for some inexplicable reason, not one drop of rain fell, and our vineyards remained completely dry. Pretty much overnight all the weather predictions changed…. sun and warm weather arrived – the weather Gods had finally started to smile on us.

With renewed vigour, bought about by this sudden change in fortunes, we launched our team into our ‘Bodega’ vineyard (a one hectare site surrounding the wine cellar). On a bright, breezy Wednesday morning the grapes very quickly started to fill our reception area, and within an hour or two the first press kicked into gear. The harvest was officially under way!

This sudden change in fortunes had not only brightened our mood, but had also made a considerable difference in the vineyards. The collection and analysis of samples from all the different vineyard sites continued even with the harvest under way, obviously this process enables us to determine the order in which we should pick (it’s not just a random choice!). The analysis quickly revealed that this burst of warm sunshine had already made a difference as the acidity in the grape started to fall significantly. This was just what we needed, as in the lead up to picking we had been contemplating the necessity to de-acidify our 2014 wines. With just a little more time (and warmth) this will almost certainly not now be required.

Dawn on Day One 2014After many nervous days watching the weather, the start of our 2014 campaign actually came rather suddenly! For the previous two days almost every weather site that I had visited predicted rain, an 80-90% probability. However, for some inexplicable reason, not one drop of rain fell, and our vineyards remained completely dry. Pretty much overnight all the weather predictions changed…. sun and warm weather arrived – the weather Gods had finally started to smile on us.

With renewed vigour, bought about by this sudden change in fortunes, we launched our team into our ‘Bodega’ vineyard (a one hectare site surrounding the wine cellar). On a bright, breezy Wednesday morning the grapes very quickly started to fill our reception area, and within an hour or two the first press kicked into gear. The harvest was officially under way!

This sudden change in fortunes had not only brightened our mood, but had also made a considerable difference in the vineyards. The collection and analysis of samples from all the different vineyard sites continued even with the harvest under way, obviously this process enables us to determine the order in which we should pick (it’s not just a random choice!). The analysis quickly revealed that this burst of warm sunshine had already made a difference as the acidity in the grape started to fall significantly. This was just what we needed, as in the lead up to picking we had been contemplating the necessity to de-acidify our 2014 wines. With just a little more time (and warmth) this will almost certainly not now be required.

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