I seem to spend my time moaning about inaccurate weather forecasts, and day 4 of this year’s harvest only served to illustrate my feelings perfectly. As we went to bed on day 3 the sky was clear and predictions for the following day indicated a fine day with the chance of rain increasing towards the evening. No problem. The following morning I opened the shutters, and within half an hour the drizzle had started! Fortunately this fine rain was not heavy and did not last for too long, but still long enough to leave the canopy damp (although the fruit itself remained perfectly dry). Of course we cannot work with any water present, and so our start to the day was delayed until lunch time.

Thankfully some warm sunshine and a fresh breeze soon had the desired effect, and picking was resumed. Again it was a game of catch up, as we tried to take advantage of the dry spell, and once again our pickers swarmed like locusts over our ‘Bodega’ vineyard. As they did I was thrilled to discover that I had a supporter (well, there had to be one somewhere), a very attractive young lady sporting a t-shirt with my name on it. Naturally, I grabbed my camera, but only to photograph the t-shirt I hasten to add…..

By the end of the day we had somehow managed, miraculously, to gather pretty much the same quantity of grapes that we would expect on a full working day. (I should add that grapes were arriving from growers vineyards too). At one brief point during the evening our grape reception was almost swamped, but at least we managed to get every grape inside before the rain returned once again. It was then simply down to our pressing team to do their stuff during the night.

I seem to spend my time moaning about inaccurate weather forecasts, and day 4 of this year’s harvest only served to illustrate my feelings perfectly. As we went to bed on day 3 the sky was clear and predictions for the following day indicated a fine day with the chance of rain increasing towards the evening. No problem. The following morning I opened the shutters, and within half an hour the drizzle had started! Fortunately this fine rain was not heavy and did not last for too long, but still long enough to leave the canopy damp (although the fruit itself remained perfectly dry). Of course we cannot work with any water present, and so our start to the day was delayed until lunch time.

Thankfully some warm sunshine and a fresh breeze soon had the desired effect, and picking was resumed. Again it was a game of catch up, as we tried to take advantage of the dry spell, and once again our pickers swarmed like locusts over our ‘Bodega’ vineyard. As they did I was thrilled to discover that I had a supporter (well, there had to be one somewhere), a very attractive young lady sporting a t-shirt with my name on it. Naturally, I grabbed my camera, but only to photograph the t-shirt I hasten to add…..

By the end of the day we had somehow managed, miraculously, to gather pretty much the same quantity of grapes that we would expect on a full working day. (I should add that grapes were arriving from growers vineyards too). At one brief point during the evening our grape reception was almost swamped, but at least we managed to get every grape inside before the rain returned once again. It was then simply down to our pressing team to do their stuff during the night.

During the harvest, which is obviously quite physically demanding and therefore very tiring, we like to try to keep a smile on our faces as much as we can. Sometimes it is very stupid, slightly infantile things that keep us happy, such as this sketch of a grape picking Sponge Bob on our blackboard.

On the wall of our pressing room we have an enormous blackboard, where we keep an informal record of every pressing that we make before it is transferred on to computer. This is where our cartoon character made his appearance (I removed the reference to Angela before I took the picture as a mark of respect!)

On a more serious note, after a wait of two days (one day of rain showers and one day of drier, brighter weather), we eventually ventured back into the vineyards. In an effort to do a bit of catching up we used every resource to gather grapes as quickly as possible, and before lunch time had even arrived, we already had both presses working flat out. 

This early momentum was carried throughout the day, and by the early hours of the morning the last few presses of the day were already being prepared. Our super human effort had paid off, and we ended the night with a very repectable total of kilos under our belts.

During the harvest, which is obviously quite physically demanding and therefore very tiring, we like to try to keep a smile on our faces as much as we can. Sometimes it is very stupid, slightly infantile things that keep us happy, such as this sketch of a grape picking Sponge Bob on our blackboard.

On the wall of our pressing room we have an enormous blackboard, where we keep an informal record of every pressing that we make before it is transferred on to computer. This is where our cartoon character made his appearance (I removed the reference to Angela before I took the picture as a mark of respect!)

On a more serious note, after a wait of two days (one day of rain showers and one day of drier, brighter weather), we eventually ventured back into the vineyards. In an effort to do a bit of catching up we used every resource to gather grapes as quickly as possible, and before lunch time had even arrived, we already had both presses working flat out. 

This early momentum was carried throughout the day, and by the early hours of the morning the last few presses of the day were already being prepared. Our super human effort had paid off, and we ended the night with a very repectable total of kilos under our belts.

After an energetic start to the 2011 campaign on Monday, we have now come to a grinding halt – the weather refuses to play it’s part. The stop-start periods of rain prevent us from re-starting the picking as the fruit has no chance of drying between the showers. It’s very frustating….

Having cleared our desks in anticipation of the harvest we now find oursleves with little to do, except sift our way through the various weather forecasts. Unfortunately this is not helping too much as every one of them seems to come up with a slightly different prediction. In the circumstances all we can do is sit, watch and wait.

We did at least make it into the local paper on Tuesday, as they reported our exploits in our Castrelo vineyard of the previous day. Indeed, we did rather well with several photos and a full page spread. All free publicity is very welcome!

After an energetic start to the 2011 campaign on Monday, we have now come to a grinding halt – the weather refuses to play it’s part. The stop-start periods of rain prevent us from re-starting the picking as the fruit has no chance of drying between the showers. It’s very frustating….

Having cleared our desks in anticipation of the harvest we now find oursleves with little to do, except sift our way through the various weather forecasts. Unfortunately this is not helping too much as every one of them seems to come up with a slightly different prediction. In the circumstances all we can do is sit, watch and wait.

We did at least make it into the local paper on Tuesday, as they reported our exploits in our Castrelo vineyard of the previous day. Indeed, we did rather well with several photos and a full page spread. All free publicity is very welcome!

After our assessment of the first day of picking yesterday, we quickly realised that the yields in 2011 were going to be high. The kilos that we estimated for our first vineyard site in Castrelo were easily surpassed, and the presses were working overtime to keep pace. We also have our biggest picking team ever, with around 60 people in total. Actually, calling them a picking team is not strictly true, as a number of these helpers are actually dedicated to logistics – collecting filled baskets, loading them on to our vehicles, and getting them into the presses as quickly as possible. It’s a never ending shuttle. With this combination of higher yields and more people it certainly added to the pressure on the bodega itself, but speaking on behalf of the bodega team, we console ourselves by remembering that the harvest only occurs once a year!

Obviously my reference to ‘red sky’ is taken from the old adage, “red sky in the morning, shepherds warning” (I think that in the U.S. they refer to sailors rather than shepherds), but either way it translates into possible bad weather on the way. As I’ve said before, forget all the satellite systems, barometric charts etc., etc., just stick your head out of the window and forecast the weather for yourself. Unfortunately for us it looks like this old proverb might well have come true this time around – by lunch time on day 2 the clouds were thickening, and it was looking bad for the afternoon. With this is mind we decided to suspend the picking, and sure enough, almost within minutes, the rain had started – not heavy, torrential rain, but still enough to soak the skins of the fruit. The forecast for day 3 is not that great either, so it might well be that we will wait for a new window before re-starting. Let’s see what tomorrow brings….

After our assessment of the first day of picking yesterday, we quickly realised that the yields in 2011 were going to be high. The kilos that we estimated for our first vineyard site in Castrelo were easily surpassed, and the presses were working overtime to keep pace. We also have our biggest picking team ever, with around 60 people in total. Actually, calling them a picking team is not strictly true, as a number of these helpers are actually dedicated to logistics – collecting filled baskets, loading them on to our vehicles, and getting them into the presses as quickly as possible. It’s a never ending shuttle. With this combination of higher yields and more people it certainly added to the pressure on the bodega itself, but speaking on behalf of the bodega team, we console ourselves by remembering that the harvest only occurs once a year!

Obviously my reference to ‘red sky’ is taken from the old adage, “red sky in the morning, shepherds warning” (I think that in the U.S. they refer to sailors rather than shepherds), but either way it translates into possible bad weather on the way. As I’ve said before, forget all the satellite systems, barometric charts etc., etc., just stick your head out of the window and forecast the weather for yourself. Unfortunately for us it looks like this old proverb might well have come true this time around – by lunch time on day 2 the clouds were thickening, and it was looking bad for the afternoon. With this is mind we decided to suspend the picking, and sure enough, almost within minutes, the rain had started – not heavy, torrential rain, but still enough to soak the skins of the fruit. The forecast for day 3 is not that great either, so it might well be that we will wait for a new window before re-starting. Let’s see what tomorrow brings….

As we kick off the 2011 vintage for the first time ever in the month of August, we are busy counting the walking wounded…. We have at least four member of our team with injuries of varying degrees, including one actually on crutches! I suggested this morning that we should set up a physiotherapy unit in the grape reception. (Of course the main source of exercise would be emptying cases of grapes into the presses).

On a slightly more serious note, we have started picking on a clear, sunny day albeit that the temperature is only in the low 20’s (around 70°F) – pleasant enough, but not really as high as we would anticipate in August. Indeed, that is pretty much the tale of the last two months; no real heat worth speaking of.

It’s very early days, but we will have to see how this low temperature will affect the finished wines. I am pretty certain from what we have seen so far that the alcoholic degree will be lower, perhaps around 11.5%. Although this might seem quite low, to be honest it is probably more in keeping with a traditional albariño. It is only in very recent years that we have experienced alcohol as high as 12,5%.

Anyway, let us not pre-judge, it is only the first day, let’s wait and see what the next week or so will deliver.

As we kick off the 2011 vintage for the first time ever in the month of August, we are busy counting the walking wounded…. We have at least four member of our team with injuries of varying degrees, including one actually on crutches! I suggested this morning that we should set up a physiotherapy unit in the grape reception. (Of course the main source of exercise would be emptying cases of grapes into the presses).

On a slightly more serious note, we have started picking on a clear, sunny day albeit that the temperature is only in the low 20’s (around 70°F) – pleasant enough, but not really as high as we would anticipate in August. Indeed, that is pretty much the tale of the last two months; no real heat worth speaking of.

It’s very early days, but we will have to see how this low temperature will affect the finished wines. I am pretty certain from what we have seen so far that the alcoholic degree will be lower, perhaps around 11.5%. Although this might seem quite low, to be honest it is probably more in keeping with a traditional albariño. It is only in very recent years that we have experienced alcohol as high as 12,5%.

Anyway, let us not pre-judge, it is only the first day, let’s wait and see what the next week or so will deliver.

Fran is our senior cellar hand, and not only helps us in the Bodega, but is also a gifted handyman. He can turn his hand to more or less anything, building, metalwork, carpentry, mechanics – you name it, he can do it. Suffice to say that he’s a very useful guy to have around, and probably saves us a fortune in not having to call contractors to do jobs around the cellar.

However, no matter how perfect we men think we are, every man has his weakness. Fran’s is keeping his ‘tool corner’ tidy.

With the recent cooler weather we are now just waiting for the final ripening in the vineyards, and so as we wait, it is an opportunity to catch up on those jobs that we never quite get around to. One of Fran’s was tidying up his tools….

The reason that I took a photograph was simply so that I can remind him how it should look at all times! (Sorry Fran)

Fran is our senior cellar hand, and not only helps us in the Bodega, but is also a gifted handyman. He can turn his hand to more or less anything, building, metalwork, carpentry, mechanics – you name it, he can do it. Suffice to say that he’s a very useful guy to have around, and probably saves us a fortune in not having to call contractors to do jobs around the cellar.

However, no matter how perfect we men think we are, every man has his weakness. Fran’s is keeping his ‘tool corner’ tidy.

With the recent cooler weather we are now just waiting for the final ripening in the vineyards, and so as we wait, it is an opportunity to catch up on those jobs that we never quite get around to. One of Fran’s was tidying up his tools….

The reason that I took a photograph was simply so that I can remind him how it should look at all times! (Sorry Fran)

Under normal circumstances I would like to believe that our cellars are always clean and well ordered, but I’m afraid to admit that, at harvest time it’s not quite that simple.

Although our wine cellar is pretty large (certainly by Galician standards), at harvest time space is always at a premium. Anything that can be moved or piled high will find a temporary new home. Whilst we actively discourage our customers from ordering during harvest, we will actually never say “No”, and so we always have stock prepared and at the ready. The problem inevitably arises when the pallet that we need is actually at the back, or at the bottom of a pile.

Then of course there are the special labels. As I write this post we are hurriedly preparing two orders, one for Germany and one for France, both of which have special labelling requirements. In Germany we need to include ‘enthält sulfite’ on the label – contains sulfites (which we already mention in two other languages), and then for France we have the infamous ‘do not drink whilst pregnant’ logo.

As though we don’t have enough to think about!

Under normal circumstances I would like to believe that our cellars are always clean and well ordered, but I’m afraid to admit that, at harvest time it’s not quite that simple.

Although our wine cellar is pretty large (certainly by Galician standards), at harvest time space is always at a premium. Anything that can be moved or piled high will find a temporary new home. Whilst we actively discourage our customers from ordering during harvest, we will actually never say “No”, and so we always have stock prepared and at the ready. The problem inevitably arises when the pallet that we need is actually at the back, or at the bottom of a pile.

Then of course there are the special labels. As I write this post we are hurriedly preparing two orders, one for Germany and one for France, both of which have special labelling requirements. In Germany we need to include ‘enthält sulfite’ on the label – contains sulfites (which we already mention in two other languages), and then for France we have the infamous ‘do not drink whilst pregnant’ logo.

As though we don’t have enough to think about!

I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record, as I’m sure I repeat the same story every year – please forgive me, I’m just going a bit senile….

It’s that time of year when I start to follow a number of different weather forecasts to see what the final pre-harvest days will bring, and also to look for a window of opportunity to start picking.

I mention ‘different’ weather sites, and that, I’m afraid, is the significant part – all the different sites that I follow are all giving me conflicting information. In their defence I would say that the summer of 2011 has been very unsettled to date, and it must be a bit of a nightmare trying to forecast accurately what is going to happen, but unfortunately that doesn’t help me too much.

Indeed, the picture that I have included here is a ‘screen grab’ from the CNN site that shows fabulous, settled, sunny weather for the coming days. This was in contrast to other sites that indicated odd days of cloud and rain, and so in the end it simply becomes a question of who to believe.

Me? I will just stick my head out of the window and see what’s happening – a system that never fails!

I’m probably starting to sound like a broken record, as I’m sure I repeat the same story every year – please forgive me, I’m just going a bit senile….

It’s that time of year when I start to follow a number of different weather forecasts to see what the final pre-harvest days will bring, and also to look for a window of opportunity to start picking.

I mention ‘different’ weather sites, and that, I’m afraid, is the significant part – all the different sites that I follow are all giving me conflicting information. In their defence I would say that the summer of 2011 has been very unsettled to date, and it must be a bit of a nightmare trying to forecast accurately what is going to happen, but unfortunately that doesn’t help me too much.

Indeed, the picture that I have included here is a ‘screen grab’ from the CNN site that shows fabulous, settled, sunny weather for the coming days. This was in contrast to other sites that indicated odd days of cloud and rain, and so in the end it simply becomes a question of who to believe.

Me? I will just stick my head out of the window and see what’s happening – a system that never fails!

After a very dry spring, and dry summer, with very changeable weather during July and August, we now have storms! Not really the sort of thing we need with only a few days left to run before the harvest. It seems ironic that having prayed for a bit of rain earlier in the year, that we now have rain when we could really do with a bit more sunshine and warmth – just to give the grapes one last push and to reduce the acidity just a touch. So far there has been less than 24 hours of rainfall, enough to wash the fruit, but we really don’t need any more at this stage.

The only real consolation is that this break in the weather gives us time to complete final preparations inside the wine cellar, making sure that all the equipment is clean, polished and ready for action.The empty tanks are waiting, the motors are lubricated, and our bodega staff are like finely honed atheletes waiting at the start line…. (well, maybe a slight exaggeration).

After a very dry spring, and dry summer, with very changeable weather during July and August, we now have storms! Not really the sort of thing we need with only a few days left to run before the harvest. It seems ironic that having prayed for a bit of rain earlier in the year, that we now have rain when we could really do with a bit more sunshine and warmth – just to give the grapes one last push and to reduce the acidity just a touch. So far there has been less than 24 hours of rainfall, enough to wash the fruit, but we really don’t need any more at this stage.

The only real consolation is that this break in the weather gives us time to complete final preparations inside the wine cellar, making sure that all the equipment is clean, polished and ready for action.The empty tanks are waiting, the motors are lubricated, and our bodega staff are like finely honed atheletes waiting at the start line…. (well, maybe a slight exaggeration).

As we arrive closer to harvest time with every day that passes, so we spend our days collecting and analysing grape samples. Of course the objective of this exercise is quite simple – to decide the optimum time to start picking.

On face value this might appear to be a very simple, straightforward task, but the reality is actually quite different. Apart from calculating the best balance between sugar (potential alcohol), acidity and pH, we have to take into account that that ripening is not necessarily even. The variations do not only appear between different geographical vineyard locations, but also between the different blocks or rows within each vineyard. Every year these subtle differences help us to determine which vineyard we will pick first, and also how we should best approach the picking within that site. It could even be that we will pick only a fraction of one location on a certain day, and then go back for the rest maybe two or three days later.

Of course the other major variable is that if it takes more than a week to gather in our entire harvest, then the fruit will still maturing over that period –  at the very end of the growing cycle the changes in sugar and acidity can be extremely rapid and will evolve on a daily basis.

All these calculations are however, tempered by the weather – hot sun will certainly change the physiology of the fruit, as will rain during the harvest period. So not such a simple calculation after all…..

As we arrive closer to harvest time with every day that passes, so we spend our days collecting and analysing grape samples. Of course the objective of this exercise is quite simple – to decide the optimum time to start picking.

On face value this might appear to be a very simple, straightforward task, but the reality is actually quite different. Apart from calculating the best balance between sugar (potential alcohol), acidity and pH, we have to take into account that that ripening is not necessarily even. The variations do not only appear between different geographical vineyard locations, but also between the different blocks or rows within each vineyard. Every year these subtle differences help us to determine which vineyard we will pick first, and also how we should best approach the picking within that site. It could even be that we will pick only a fraction of one location on a certain day, and then go back for the rest maybe two or three days later.

Of course the other major variable is that if it takes more than a week to gather in our entire harvest, then the fruit will still maturing over that period –  at the very end of the growing cycle the changes in sugar and acidity can be extremely rapid and will evolve on a daily basis.

All these calculations are however, tempered by the weather – hot sun will certainly change the physiology of the fruit, as will rain during the harvest period. So not such a simple calculation after all…..