The heat wave and Levante have arrived and temperatures
in Jerez have reached 42C in the shade. The effect of this is to accelerate the
ripening of the grapes, but the harvest will still be late due to the heavy
rainfall and moderate temperatures in spring. This time last year the Palomino
harvest was about to start, and other varieties like Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer
had already been picked. At least the current weather conditions have stopped
the cryptogamic problems which have been so costly in their tracks, but they
also cause dehydration of the grapes, reducing yields.
Some are predicting a start date of the 20th
of August for the inland vineyards but others say it will be later as the
grapes are not ripening uniformly even in the same vineyard. Some growers are
thinning out under-ripe bunches leaving only the riper ones and pruning back
leaf cover so the sun and wind have better access. Currently the average sugar
levels are only around 7.5° Beaumé, and the minimum legal requirement is 10.5°.
Many are lowering their earlier predictions of a huge harvest 20% bigger than
last year and falling into line with the prediction of the Consejo Regulador of
a 10% increase. (82.5 million kilos compared to the 7.5 million of 2017). A lot
can happen in a week to affect the character of the harvest, and temperatures are
expected to drop on Wednesday but until then it will be very hot with changeable
wind.
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