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.

I wrote just a few days ago about our changing weather, and how we had transitioned from damp, changeable conditions to dry, arid conditions, all within the space of a few weeks. As you will have no doubt seen on the news, these dry, scorched conditions have resulted in some very serious forest fires across almost the whole of Europe. Galicia has not escaped, and whilst the outbreaks have not been as catastrophic as the fires in the southwest of France, they have still been quite significant. Fortunately, many were brought under control quite quickly.

Apart from the fires, the lack of water in our vineyards is now starting to hit home, and although the developing fruit is very healthy, it could turn out to be yet another year of high alcohol, low yields, and (as I mentioned before) high prices. After an extremely dry and hot month in July, August has started slightly differently. Close to the Ocean there have been some very thick sea fogs (much thicker and more persistent than the usual sea mists that roll up our ‘Rias’ from time to time). Clearly, this not only reduces the amount of sun, but also reduces the temperature quite dramatically. It does not, however, provide us any much needed rain. Having said that, in the last two days it has been somewhat grey and overcast, and we have finally experienced just a few rain showers – unfortunately barely enough to penetrate the canopy, let alone add any significant moisture to the soil. Indeed, after such long dry periods, the first rainfall does not really penetrate and tends to simply run off the surface. An now, the latest forecast predicts that the dry, sunny weather will return…

Today’s photos show an outbreak of fire in the hills not far from the City of Pontevedra. The first taken at about 9.30 pm, the second and hour or two later, and the third the following morning when the fire has moved down the hillside, albeit that the air is still filled with smoke.

As little as four or five weeks ago I was writing about vine vigour, when a combination of alternating periods of warm, sunny weather followed by heavy rain had precipitated quite intensive growth in our vines. Today that picture has changed somewhat.

This all changed at the beginning of July when we experienced some quite extreme temperatures (around 40°C or 104°F) – fortunately this intense heat only lasted for a day or two. Having said that the high temperatures continued, mostly in the upper 20’s °C, but with many days actually over 30°C (around 90°F). Apart from one short, sharp downpour, July was almost entirely hot and sunny.

Over the last few days much of the coastal area in the Salnés Valley has been shrouded in a heavy sea mist/fog. In some areas (perhaps a few kilometres inland), this mist ‘burns off’ during the day, and sunny, but marginally cooler temperatures are restored (when I say cooler, I really mean the mid-20’s°C or around 75°F). Despite this mist and slightly reduced temperatures, there is still no sign of rain, and so our vineyards remain just a little parched at the moment.

In the last week or two, despite the baking temperatures, we have been clearing the corner of one of our vineyards. Yes, this did involve cutting a few trees, but I should emphasise that we did seek the appropriate permissions, and that the trees that we cut were mostly eucalyptus, not indigenous to Galicia, considered by many to be invasive, and the cause of many a forest fire in our region. There were two, or perhaps three reasons for doing this work….

Firstly, because we are obliged by law to clear forest areas and scrub land, precisely to reduce the risk of fires. Secondly, because this small piece of land is actually registered as a vineyard, and has never been exploited as such. And thirdly, because of the price of grapes at the moment!

This third reason is actually a major concern for Rias Baixas this year, and all because of one single bodega! I shall not name the property concerned (perhaps for liable reasons), but every bodega locally knows exactly who they are, and that they are owned by a much larger Company from outside Galicia. The simple fact is that they are desperate for grapes, and as such have been making ridiculous, unsustainable offers to local growers, often going door-to-door and poaching thousands of kilos of grapes from their neighbouring wine cellars. I should mention they the size of the bodegas that they are plundering from are not small, and have been left very, very angry indeed (something of an understatement).

Suffice to say that these tactics (apart from being completely unethical), have caused an artificial surge in the demand for grapes, and will no doubt result in highly inflated prices, just at a time when consumers are reducing their spending, and perhaps seeking opportunities to trade-down a little. Enough said, I will stop before my blood boils!

A few days ago I was a guest on a ‘digital tasting’ organised by Tim Atkin MW. Tim had visited our bodega a couple of weeks earlier, and during our conversation I had described our recent weather as a bit topsy-turvy (upside down, or in a state of confusion). Little did I know that Tim would quote me on this during his introduction.

In the last couple of days, since this Zoom tasting (all the participants were sent sample bottles), there has been yet another example of the extremes of our recent, crazy weather. On Saturday temperatures hit about 36°C (97°F) and our local beaches were packed (for those who could stand the heat). On Sunday the cloud rolled in, and by Sunday afternoon, through until Monday, the thermometer never hit much more that 16°C (61°F) – less than half of the previous days temperature. This was accompanied  by a very fine ‘mizzle’ hanging in the air (a cross between a light drizzle and mist from the Ocean).

Today, Tuesday, we are bracing ourselves, with a forecast high of more that 40°C (104°F). This temperature is expected to continue at least until the weekend. Having said that, a week of two ago most of Spain was affected by these high temperatures, but luckily, our small, isolated corner of northwest Spain had pretty much escaped. This week it appears that we are not quite so lucky.

Well, I really don’t know what more I can say about our weather, except that it continues to be both changeable and unpredictable. Having said that, I am sure that many wine regions around the world are telling the very same story. There has been no sustained period of any type of ‘settled’ weather, and indeed it continues to vary wildly almost from day to day. Take this weekend for example – Saturday sunny, with a warm wind and temperatures in the high 20’s °C (towards 80°F), and then Sunday morning cold and wet, with temperatures nearly 10°C lower at about 17°C (63°F). The other weather characteristic of 2022 is that, when there has been sunshine, the air temperature has often remained cool – refreshing in some ways, but again, not really great conditions for our fruit.

To repeat my story of the other day, our cellar is still full to bursting with prepared orders. Of course, we love this scenario, but we now just want to get them out and on the road! Road hauliers have somehow been reluctant to give us firm dates for collections as yet, and my guess is that this is to do with the current shortages of both containers and drivers. We now find ourselves is the strange situation whereby we have stopped preparing large orders until we have more space!

Galicia and the northern coast of this country is often referred to as ‘Green Spain’. This year, however, it should probably be known as ‘Exceptionally Green Spain’! The months of May and June have been alternating between warm sunshine (shorts and t-shirts) and days of persistent rain (raincoats and umbrellas). Great if you’re a plant, but perhaps not so great for grape producers. Whilst our vines are growing like wildfire, these are also the best conditions for spawning disease and infection in the plants. (These are exactly the type of conditions that make it very, very difficult to produce wines that are certified organic or biodynamic – the risks of losing an entire crop are simply too great).

Fortunately for us, our flowering took place during the latter half of May, which was largely dry and sunny, but no sooner had the flowering finished, than the rain returned yet again. Conditions have sometimes been fluctuating on an hourly basis.

Our normally well manicured vineyards are almost looking a bit abandoned, even though we are working around the clock to keep vegetation, both on the vine ‘canopy’ and also the ground below, under control. This wild growth is known as ‘Vine Vigour’, which in 2022, seems like something of an understatement! Let’s see what the summer brings.

After a dry winter, April is living up to it’s reputation – periods of sun interspersed by short, sharp showers. Whilst the rainfall is quite welcome, it has not really been enough to replenish our depleted water table, so far. Similar to last year, one of the characteristics of spring so far have been the cool temperatures. Even in the sunshine, winter jackets are often still required, the clear blue skies are quite deceptive. Of course, from a vineyard point of view these cool temperatures are no bad thing, as the worst possible scenario would be showers and sun accompanied by warm temperatures – an ideal combination for disease in the young vine shoots. The other effect of this persistent cold temperature is that development of the vegetation so far, has been a little slow. It’s still early days, so we shall see how things evolve.

Meanwhile, back in the world of Covid, about a week ago, Spain dropped it’s rules for the compulsory use of masks inside public locations. Individual businesses are still allowed to ask people to wear them, and it is very interesting to note that the majority of people still do, both indoors and outdoors. The Spanish (quite correctly in my view), are still very cautious.

By the way, can you spot our bodega in today’s photo? It is just visible!

The winter of 2021/22 must surely be classified officially as ‘dry’. Over the last month or so there have been a few light showers, but nothing of any real significance. It is only in the last week that we have experienced some heavy downpours, but to be honest, we would probably need at least another few weeks of this to replenish this winter’s shortfall completely. Having said that, it appears that this might not happen, as the sun has now returned and the immediate forecast does not predict much rainfall.

In the vineyards our pruning is finished and we are now simply tying the last few vines before this year’s vegetation springs into life. The only real benefit of the dry weather has been the slightly more favourable conditions for pruning.

As we get closer to springtime, our thoughts return to the cellar, where our wine has been resting quietly on its lees. Of course, we taste regularly over the winter, but it will soon be time to consider blending and racking, and the launch of our 2021 vintage.

The month of January was quite exceptional, especially for Galicia. Not only was there almost zero rainfall (I think perhaps one or possibly two days at the beginning of the month), but skies have been largely cloudless for the last three or four weeks. Wall-to-wall blue sky every morning and clear, cloudless nights. Daytime temperature regularly reached the mid to high teens (15-19°C, 60-66°F), albeit that the clear January skies inevitably led to some very cold nights, with temperatures, quite frequently, dropping as low as freezing point.

Of course, as I have said many times before this provides us with really ideal conditions for pruning, and to be honest, progress to date has been much quicker than during the poor winter weather conditions that we would normally experience. Hardly a surprising observation.

The forecast tells us that we might have a little light rainfall tomorrow, but that after this we will return to largely clear, cloudless skies. There is however, a downside to this. The same as in many wine producing areas we rely on our winter rainfall to replenish the water table, and we would much rather have rain now, than during the summer months. We shall see….