After a few weeks of good weather the last week or so has been very unsettled…. again. The rain we have had has not been particularly heavy, but certainly enough to penetrate the canopy, thereby creating the conditions that we dread the most – humidity!

The well-known British journalist Tim Atkin MW was visiting our region last week (we shared a very nice dinner with him), and so he was able to witness first hand the weather conditions that I had described to him over our meal. It certainly has not been easy for us so far this year, and at this point we probably only have about one month left to run before harvest.

It is a little strange, considering the conditions, that the harvest will be so early (probably the first week of September), as the sunshine has not been particularly hot, rarely exceeding 25°C (77°F). Nights have also been quite cool.

As we move into the final month, preparations are now under way in the bodega too. As always, we have to ensure that all our equipment is clean, serviced and working properly. Of course, much of this equipment such as the presses (pictured) are only used once a year, and so we clearly can’t risk leaving it until the last moment to uncover any potential problems.

Finally back to work after my brush with Covid, catching up and making final preparations for our harvest. The bodega is pretty much set up, all equipment cleaned and tested, so now all we really need is a few grapes!

After a couple of months of completely dry, mostly hot, sunny weather, we now have rain! So far, this is not such a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t persist for too long.

Under normal circumstances rain around harvest time would be considered a bit of a disaster, but this year that is slightly different. Firstly, and most importantly, the grapes themselves are in a good sanitary state, meaning that because of the hot, dry summer the risk of disease has been low (to date). Having said that, the downside of such a long dry period is that whilst the grapes are healthy, they are all ‘skin and bone’ (well, skin and pips actually), there is not a lot of pulp/juice. In a year when grapes are already selling at a record high this would mean that we are paying a huge amount of money for fruit with only very low yields. Economically, a disaster. At least now, given a little more time, the grapes will absorb a little of this rainfall, and return to something approaching a reasonable level of grape must (juice) without too much dilution.

Another small side benefit of the rain is that the fruit will be rinsed and clean. The lack of rain has resulted in the ground under the canopy being very parched and dry. If the wind blows then the dust from this arid ground blows into the canopy and leaves the fruit coated with a fine powder. If this fruit is pressed without being washed by rain, then the must will contain an amount of dust/soil particles that would require more time for settling after pressing.

My plan for this week was to start reporting on the build up to our 2022 harvest…. until I caught Covid! Not an ideal time, as preparations are now in full swing setting up the bodega for receiving grapes.

I have no idea where I may have contracted it, but the good news is that, I was able to isolate myself quite quickly, and, consequently, I don’t believe that I have passed it on to anyone else. Fingers crossed.

Of course, the latest variations of Covid strike people different ways, albeit that many of the symptoms resemble a good dose of flu – headache, fever, aching muscles and in my case, a bad cough. For me, the difference has been that it comes and goes in waves, one minute I think that I’m feeling better, and the next, I am lying prostrate on my sofa. The other common side effect is exhaustion – feeling completely drained, with no energy, and, unfortunately, that is exactly how I feel now.

Hopefully, I will be recovered in time for the harvest that we anticipate will start in about one week from now.

In the final days before our 2021 harvest the weather is not being too kind to us. Yesterday evening we had a weird, two-part thunder storm. The first part dry, with no rain, just the thunder and lightning, and the second just heavy rain with no thunder. Fortunately, the wet part didn’t last too long.

This morning we have had a few odd showers, or the threat of showers and the whole region is simply cool and overcast. More rain is forecast in the coming days, but we hope that the worst might be behind us before we start picking some time next week (we think).

Meanwhile, inside the bodega, we are almost ready to start! Everything has been thoroughly washed, cleaned and polished, and we are now just in the midst of testing our systems – pumps, temperature control, etc., in preparation for the onslaught!

Whilst our pre-harvest work is well under way, cleaning equipment in the bodega and cutting grass in the vineyards etc., the bodega itself is surrounded by storms! The first day of September has bought a sudden downturn to the weather – yesterday very much a beach day, and today very much not. At this moment it is not actually raining, albeit we can hear the odd rumble of thunder in the distance, but this in itself, is not the most worrying development.

Yesterday evening, in our Provincial capital of Pontevedra (about 20km from the bodega) we had hail storms! Including some quite sizeable pieces (see photo), certainly enough to do some serious damage if they were to fall in the wrong areas. We have already witnessed some serious hail damage in both the Ribera del Duero and the Loire Valley in France a couple of months ago, and so we have our fingers firmly crossed that this type of event is not repeated here. Unfortunately, with hailstorms they are not only completely unpredictable, but they are often also very localised, some vineyards being hit, whilst other neighbouring vineyards are not. It really is in the lap of the weather Gods.

Tomorrow we will make our last bottling before the harvest. Thankfully our wine sales has been pretty buoyant for the last few months as customers have been re-stocking their cellars after lockdown. Also, it would seem, that at least some enthusiastic consumers have been making up for lost time, albeit that we would never condone overindulgence in alcohol.

In other news or local weather has been more favourable over the last couple of weeks. Our vineyards have been benefitting from some warm sunshine with temperatures into the mid-20’s C (75-80°F), indeed, in the last couple of the mercury has touched 30°C (86°F). Although we have enjoyed some sunshine before, it has never been exceptionally warm, and so we really needed this extra boost of heat to ripen our fruit.

As the harvest draws closer (we estimate around the second of September), we now turn our attention to preparing the wine cellar. Over the next couple of weeks every tank, every hose, every floor, everything in the cellar has to be deep cleaned. We also need to have all our winemaking materials on hand (orders already placed), and every machine and pump that we use has to be cleaned and tested. We try to anticipate everything, leaving as little as possible to chance.

I speak English, French and Spanish, albeit that my French is getting a bit rusty now, as I haven’t used it for some time. When I do occasionally try to use it I often throw the odd Spanish word into the middle of a sentence – completely unwittingly.

This morning on my way to work I glanced up at the motorway gantry (see photo), which, for a split second, my brain translated as “If babies don’t drive, have a happy (safe) journey!” What? Babies driving? Of course, I quickly realised and re-adjusted my translation to the real meaning “If you drink, don’t drive – Happy journey!” Beber is the Spanish verb to drive – nothing to do with bébé, the French word for babies!

Actually, in this photo you may also notice the dreadful weather. Not raining, but heavy grey skies with low cloud, and damp hanging in the air. Last week we had a few very hot days at a little over 30°C (86°F), but on Sunday the cloud moved in at it has remained cool and damp ever since, at just under 20°C (68°F).

Of course, this type of weather is far from ideal, the only positive being that it is not the type of warm humidity that would create an even more prefect breeding ground for vine disease. However, we still have to remain very vigilant.

There is no doubt that 2020 has been slightly surreal so far, and getting back into any sort of routine has been difficult, however this week will be used for brushing off those cobwebs…. quite literally! It’s time to prepare the bodega for action.

Over the last week or two we have been trying to work out the volume of wine that we might make this year, obviously by calculating the kilos of fruit that we might take in. Despite reduced sales this summer tank space will not be a problem, as you may recall, 2019 was quite a small crop. However, every tank and every piece of equipment has to be spotless, especially this year (for obvious reasons).

We have also been busy ordering the wine making products that we will require – yeasts, enzymes, nutrients etc., again according to the anticipated volume of fruit that we will gather.

Now is the time to begin our annual “weather watch” (not that there is anything we can do to influence this). It looks good at the moment, and clearly we would prefer the current dry conditions to continue for the coming weeks. However, we also have to be realistic and simply work with what the weather Gods decide to give us! As I say every year, fingers crossed.

After more than a month of sustained sunshine and high temperatures the weather finally changed around the middle of August. A few days of rain and grey skies transformed the completion of our summer completely, and hopefully might be of some benefit to our harvest. A little rain, at the right moment (especially after such a dry period), could add a little more substance to the fruit. The only danger being that if the berries are small and thick skinned, a burst of prolonged, heavy rain could cause the skins to split and allow rot to set in. Thankfully, this does not appear to be the case. At this time the bunches are slowly changing colour, and whilst we can taste our fruit now, it still has a week or two to evolve before we start picking. (It appears that we might start around 7th September).

Of course, this year’s harvest will have quite a different look, with many new rules imposed upon us as a result of the Covid crisis. Obviously, everyone will work in masks (which is obliged by law in Spain), and we will still have to maintain our social distances. There will also be copious amounts of hand gel used, albeit well away from the grapes! Authorities have also created a good deal of extra documentation attached to the harvest process, just for good measure, but that is a whole other story!

Of course, we are already well into the month of August, but I have to mention that our July weather was quite extraordinary. Not only was it hot and sunny but we hardly witnessed a cloud in the sky for the entire duration of the month. Whilst this would be quite normal in the South of Spain, for Galicia it is perhaps, something of a rarity.

With temperatures regularly hovering around 30°C (86°F) or above, and as far as I recall, not a drop of rain touched the ground. It would be easy to assume that these are perfect conditions for grape growing, and whilst it is true, that these conditions are far better than damp, humid weather, a little precipitation now and again never goes amiss. As with many things in wine making, it is really a question of balance.

Fortunately the winter of 19/20 had been quite wet, and so the water deep under the surface had been topped up, meaning that the deep roots of the vines, could at least, source a little moisture.

Looking at the vineyards now, the bunches are still small and tightly packed and there is no sign of veraison (when the grapes change colour from vibrant green, to a slightly more yellow/golden green, or in some cases deep gold.