Growers are beginning to worry about the lack
of the Levante wind. Nobody likes it as it is very hot and dry, but it is just
what is needed to dry out the vineyards. Yesterday the Consejo Regulador issued
a forecast predicting a possible crop increase of 10% over last year which
could amount to 82.5 million kilos and be considerably above the average of 70
million kilos over the last decade. This would suit the growers, who are paid
by the kilo, but only if they don’t lose their crop to rot.
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| (foto:Vanesa Lobo/Diario Jerez) |
Curent conditions of excess humidity and lack
of Levante create the perfect recipe for the spread of cryptogamic problems
such as mildew, oidium and botrytis which are already in evidence in the
coastal vineyards. The mild temperatures and overnight dewfall are not helping
and the harvest is behind the average by 15 – 20 days and ripening unevenly, while
the meteorologists are forecasting more of the same. It is not only Palomino which
is affected, of course, but also all the table wine grapes, PX and Moscatel.
The situation is tense, and though the alarm bells are not ringing quite yet,
everybody is anxiously waiting to see what happens.
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