So far González Byass, Estévez, Williams &
Humbert and Fundador have already begun, with Beaumé readings of about 11°. Barbadillo
and the two Trebujena cooperatives, Palomares and Albarizas, whose Beaumé
readings are around 12°, will start tomorrow. On Friday the Jerez coop
Angustias will start the “pies de cuba” – small fermentations of 3-5,000 kilos
of grapes which ripened earlier which help get the main fermentations off to a
good start by increasing the yeast population – and they anticipate starting to
pick on Monday. So the bigger players have begun, at least in Jerez; Sanlúcar
will need to wait a little longer.
There is a slight worry about rain. Yesterday
was very cloudy and a few drops fell, but the forecast looks clear with a 20%
chance of rain on Monday and temperatures in the mid 30s till then. While it is
unlikely, a downpour would cause problems and require the harvest to be
accelerated. It would dilute the grapes’ sugar content and the humidity could
cause cryptogamic problems, of which there have already been more than enough
this year. Meanwhile the Consejo’s prediction of a crop 10% bigger than last
year holds good, and hopefully the harvest will be in full swing by Monday.
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