After the outrageously wet weather of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, Easter provided us with quite a contrast. Warm, sunny weather for the duration of the extended weekend. After a long, quiet winter, almost bereft of visitors, our coastal towns were bursting at the seams with people flocking from Madrid, Spain and many others from Portugal. Our local bars and restaurants were pretty much overwhelmed after months of relative inactivity.

On Easter Monday, just as our visitors were packing their bags, the clouds returned, as did the rain – ‘April Showers’ I think we call them in English (‘Abril aguas mil’ in Spanish).

The pruning is now behind us, which is just as well, as today’s photo shows the vigorous new growth in our vineyards. Of course, the combination of sun and showers is always a big stimulant, whilst on the other hand, alternate periods of warmth and humidity can also help to promote disease. At this time we always have to remain vigilant, as damage sustained now can sometimes be irretrievable.