With all the recent rainfall, and now a blast of hot sunshine, we have perfect conditions in our vineyards for disease. Local growers are rushing out to treat their vines before the humidity takes its toll. 

People say that the vineyards of Burgundy are fragmented, but when you examine the ‘stats’ here in Galicia, I think we can give them a good run for their money….. In our denomination there are just over 4,000 hectares (about 10,000 acres) in total. This is divided between more than 6,700 registered grape growers, meaning that the average would be about 0.6 hectares (1.5 acres), except that some people have much more than the average. For example, we have 11 hectares (27 acres), meaning that many of the smallest growers have much less than the average. And this is not the end of the story – there are some 23,400 individual vineyard sites, so you can perhaps begin to imagine how fragmented we are as a wine producing area!

Anyway, back to my original point. With such small vineyard holdings much of the work is carried out by the owners and their family, and not using any hi-tech equipment either – it’s very much a hands on regime in which everyone has to play their part. Take, for example, this young man, in today’s photo, sent out in the early morning to spray his family’s plot using just a small back pack. His protective equipment?…. A blue work coat and a motorcycle helmet. Better than nothing I guess (but only just).

With all the recent rainfall, and now a blast of hot sunshine, we have perfect conditions in our vineyards for disease. Local growers are rushing out to treat their vines before the humidity takes its toll. 

People say that the vineyards of Burgundy are fragmented, but when you examine the ‘stats’ here in Galicia, I think we can give them a good run for their money….. In our denomination there are just over 4,000 hectares (about 10,000 acres) in total. This is divided between more than 6,700 registered grape growers, meaning that the average would be about 0.6 hectares (1.5 acres), except that some people have much more than the average. For example, we have 11 hectares (27 acres), meaning that many of the smallest growers have much less than the average. And this is not the end of the story – there are some 23,400 individual vineyard sites, so you can perhaps begin to imagine how fragmented we are as a wine producing area!

Anyway, back to my original point. With such small vineyard holdings much of the work is carried out by the owners and their family, and not using any hi-tech equipment either – it’s very much a hands on regime in which everyone has to play their part. Take, for example, this young man, in today’s photo, sent out in the early morning to spray his family’s plot using just a small back pack. His protective equipment?…. A blue work coat and a motorcycle helmet. Better than nothing I guess (but only just).