OK, I know, we’re a Spanish bodega and I’m using a French wine expression to describe our ‘green harvest’ – it’s just an old habit that dies hard (and I have to admit that it’s not the only French term that I use quite regularly). For example, ‘fiche technique’ is another one…. I think in the U.S. this is sometimes known as a ‘cheat sheet’, which I’m afraid doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Anyway, the subject of today’s post, as you might have guessed, is the green harvest that we are making in our vineyards. Despite a difficult, late and extended flowering period, we have actually arrived with (potentially) quite a good crop of fruit. Yes, there are a few uneven bunches (that we would remove anyway), but in addition to this we are also removing some of the excess fruit before it starts to consume too much sugar. In other years this practice might take place a little earlier, but as this year’s vineyard cycle is running a little late we now anticipate the end of September as our expected harvest date.

Clearly there is still a lot of time between now and start of picking and so removing bunches at this stage is always a risky business, but the long-term benefits are quite clear. As with any fruit or vegetable, bigger does not always mean better, and perhaps explains the British obsession with baby vegetables (although I have to admit that in many cases the baby veggies do actually taste better). The point is that if we remove some of the small, green bunches now then the energy of the vine is concentrated into the remaining fruit and we will end up with better grapes….. simple!

The difficulty is, as always, persuading a few of our grape suppliers that this is the best course of action. It’s quite understandable that they can view it as simply throwing potential profit on the floor.

OK, I know, we’re a Spanish bodega and I’m using a French wine expression to describe our ‘green harvest’ – it’s just an old habit that dies hard (and I have to admit that it’s not the only French term that I use quite regularly). For example, ‘fiche technique’ is another one…. I think in the U.S. this is sometimes known as a ‘cheat sheet’, which I’m afraid doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.

Anyway, the subject of today’s post, as you might have guessed, is the green harvest that we are making in our vineyards. Despite a difficult, late and extended flowering period, we have actually arrived with (potentially) quite a good crop of fruit. Yes, there are a few uneven bunches (that we would remove anyway), but in addition to this we are also removing some of the excess fruit before it starts to consume too much sugar. In other years this practice might take place a little earlier, but as this year’s vineyard cycle is running a little late we now anticipate the end of September as our expected harvest date.

Clearly there is still a lot of time between now and start of picking and so removing bunches at this stage is always a risky business, but the long-term benefits are quite clear. As with any fruit or vegetable, bigger does not always mean better, and perhaps explains the British obsession with baby vegetables (although I have to admit that in many cases the baby veggies do actually taste better). The point is that if we remove some of the small, green bunches now then the energy of the vine is concentrated into the remaining fruit and we will end up with better grapes….. simple!

The difficulty is, as always, persuading a few of our grape suppliers that this is the best course of action. It’s quite understandable that they can view it as simply throwing potential profit on the floor.