21.8.15 Harvest at Barbadillo and González Byass

Bodegas Barbadillo has begun harvesting and hope to pick 10 million kilos of grapes which they say are of excellent quality. They reckon the harvest will last till the first week of September. About 2.5 million kilos will come from the firm’s own 300 hectares of vineyard in Santa Lucía and Gibalbín. The rest will come from the 35 contracted growers’ vineyards in Jerez and Sanlúcar. They are picking about half a million kilos daily, split between mechanical and hand harvesting. The machines work at night till morning and the humans work from dawn till it gets too hot.

So far sugar readings are between 11.5ᴼ and 12ᴼ Beaumé and with the forecast cooling of temperatures the ripening will revert to normal. Much of th harvest will go for the firm’s top selling white table wine brand Castillo de San Diego which celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year. They also make a sparkling wine Beta, for which the Chardonnay was picked at the end of July. It is already fermented and awaits the Palomino to join it in the blend. Meanwhile with the red grapes they will pick Merlot at the end of this month and later the Tempranillo, Syrah, Petit Verdot and Cabernet.

Hand picking at Barbadillo (foto:diariojerez)

González Byass has also been harvesting at their 15.5 hectare La Racha vineyard, one of their holdings in the Pago Macharnudo. They have been picking by hand here and at night for the last four years. The 39 pickers are all men. They used to be mostly women as the men were working in construction, but the crisis put an end to that. Each worker picks some 600 kilos of grapes and the harvest will take two or at the most three days. The grapes go to a selection table where any bad bunches will be discarded. The pickers all have hi-viz jackets and lights on their heads and with the tractors’ headlights as well, there is enough light to see, but the noise from the engines makes conversation difficult.

17.8.14 Chiclana Salt Pans; Gonzalez Byass Night Harvesting

Chiclana is not only famous for wine, but for salt. A great deal was produced in the past, but the industry has declined for reasons of viability – or perceived viability. Now two young men, Adrian Sanchez and Antonio Jesus Rivero, are convinced that the three disused salt pans in Chiclana could be viable in this consumer age, and they are already in negotiations with the local council for permission to reopen them.

Salt pans at Chiclana (voz digital)

There is definitely a market for artisanal salt in Europe. Both men have degrees in Environmental Sciences from UCA (Cadiz University) and have specialised in marshes, wetlands and salt pans, winning prizes for their work. Some 25 hectares of salt pans could employ 30 people.  To Adrian and Antonio, all you need to succeed is to believe. Chiclana already has a museum of wine and salt, which shows the importance they once had. Let’s hope they succeed!

Gonzalez Byass is night-harvesting in their 15.5 hectare vineyard “Viña Racha”, part of the 120 hectare Finca San Antonio in the pago Macharnudo. The best musts will eventually refresh the Tio Pepe soleras. These grapes will be taken quickly to the GB vinification plant, “Las Copas”. These vines are being picked by hand, by 40 people wearing “hi-viz” jackets, in almost total darkness except for the lights from small tractors and those on their heads. They are filling plastic crates with a capacity of 15 kilos and are paid 25% extra for working at night. Many work in the vineyards during the rest of the year.

Night harvesting at Bonzalez Byass (diario de Jerez)

At night the temperatures are a good deal cooler, which is good for the grapes, avoiding evaporation and potential oxidation, but there is dewfall and this adds to the feeling of cold which the pickers feel.  The grapes go through a sorting table, and any which may be unsuitable are discarded. Viña Racha will take 3 or 4 days to pick.

25.8.13 Harvesting by Night

Many of the Sherry vineyards are being harvested at night. This is not a new phenomenon, but is comparatively new for Jerez. It means the grapes arrive at the lagares (press houses) in a cooler state and are therefore less prone to oxidation, and fermentations are easier to control. The grapes also arrive more quickly, and are more uniformly ripe.

The harvest has seen a technological transformation in recent years, and the familiar sight of innumerable teams of pickers has been drastically reduced. Hand picking grapes by day is extremely hard work anyway, as temperatures can be suffocating – well into the 40’s. Even the machines prefer working at night, as their engines and other mechanisms run cooler, and there are fewer breakdowns.

(Imagen Diario Jerez)

More than half the crop will be harvested mechanically. Many fewer people are even looking for work at harvest time now, though there are jobs for people to repair and service the machines, and to fix any damage they cause – which is not much, as the machines have been improving, and are quite sensitive to the vines. Naturally, some older vineyards which were not planted with machines in mind will need to be done by hand.

This year’s harvest should be over towards the end of next week – just in time for the harvest festival, and this year’s Fiesta de la Buleria, which begins at the bullring on the 7^th of September.