[:en]As the calendar moves into September we are already deep into our planning for the 2016 harvest. The tanks are empty and waiting to receive this year’s new grape must, and so for the final run-up to the picking our attention is now well and truly focused on the vineyards. The summer of 2016 has been long and hot – for more than two months the sun has been shining almost non-stop, and temperatures have regularly hovered around the 30°C (86°F) mark. Ideal conditions you might think – but this is not entirely true. A few good days of rain during the summer certainly would have helped. The problem is that whilst this level of sunshine and dry weather promotes healthy grapes, it also means that the berries are small, skins are thick, but more significantly, the layer of flesh that yields the juice, is thin – a thick and viscose texture perhaps, but with a low liquid content. Of course this usually translates into ripe and fruity wines, but potentially with higher alcohol, lower acidity, and obviously, lower yields. Good in some respects, but not ideal in others.

To be honest, being a fruit farmer (which is essentially what we are), can sometimes be very frustrating. Last year for example, we were forced to pick just a little earlier that we would have liked, as a big storm loomed on the horizon. With hindsight it was a good decision, but we know that we were just so close to having a near perfect vintage. This year it could be (we won’t really know until we have the must safely in our tanks), that we are again left just a little frustrated, but this time for almost the opposite reason – the lack of a bit more rain. However, if yields are down, we also know that small can still be beautiful![:es]As the calendar moves into September we are already deep into our planning for the 2016 harvest. The tanks are empty and waiting to receive this year’s new grape must, and so for the final run-up to the picking our attention is now well and truly focused on the vineyards. The summer of 2016 has been long and hot – for more than two months the sun has been shining almost non-stop, and temperatures have regularly hovered around the 30°C (86°F) mark. Ideal conditions you might think – but this is not entirely true. A few good days of rain during the summer certainly would have helped. The problem is that whilst this level of sunshine and dry weather promotes healthy grapes, it also means that the berries are small, skins are thick, but more significantly, the layer of flesh that yields the juice, is thin – a thick and viscose texture perhaps, but with a low liquid content. Of course this usually translates into ripe and fruity wines, but potentially with higher alcohol, lower acidity, and obviously, lower yields. Good in some respects, but not ideal in others.

To be honest, being a fruit farmer (which is essentially what we are), can sometimes be very frustrating. Last year for example, we were forced to pick just a little earlier that we would have liked, as a big storm loomed on the horizon. With hindsight it was a good decision, but we know that we were just so close to having a near perfect vintage. This year it could be (we won’t really know until we have the must safely in our tanks), that we are again left just a little frustrated, but this time for almost the opposite reason – the lack of a more rain. However, if yields are down, we also know that small can still be beautiful![:]