The 2016 harvest will begin officially on
Tuesday according to César Saldaña, director of the Consejo. Inspectors from
the Casa del Vino, as the Consejo is popularly known, will be out checking
sugar and quality levels to ensure the grapes are ideal for DO Sherry. Some
grapes have already been harvested from the inland vineyards which are normally
slightly more advanced, with the purpose of starting the “pies de cuba”, small
fermentations at the bottom of the vat which will help kickstart the bigger
fermentations when the harvest begins in earnest.
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| (foto:diariodejerez) |
While picking will commence on Tuesday, it will
not be at full speed as there is a slight lack of uniformity in ripening with
variations of up to 2ᴼ Beaumé below the minimum required of 10.5ᴼ. César Saldaña
says that the reason for this is the unusual weather conditions this year with
an intensely dry spring followed by heavy rains. It looks as though the harvest
will not be fully under way for at least two weeks. It will certainly be later
than last year, and on the dates predicted earlier: towards the end of August.
The grapes have been plagued by episodes of the
very hot Levante wind from the east which makes them lose weight in the form of
water, but thereby concentrates the sugars and brings forward the harvest. Despite
this, not all the grapes are ripe, especially those in the coastal areas where
there is a strong influence from the nearby sea. The final yield is always
difficult to predict, but thanks to the earlier mildew and the Levante, it could
be about 20% lower than last year’s crop. The growers are thinking 60 million
kilos compared to last year’s 72 million kilos.
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