News from Jerez 4.9.12

Three items today:

Grupo Etevez has announced the completion of its 2012 harvest. Production is down on last year by about 20%, but the company, being the largest vineyard owner in the area, has still picked one sixth of the entire Jerez harvest.

The quality of grapes harvested is good, however, with good acidity and a Beaume reading of around 12 degrees. But the grapes are small due mainly to the drought, with rainfall being just under half the usual 700 l/m2. The company used pickers during the mornings and machines during the night in order to bring in the harvest in the best possible condition.

Jose Maria Ruiz Mateos insisted yesterday that the man who bought Nueva Rumasa from him, Angel de Cabo, give it back to him because he has not, in almost a year, fulfilled his promise to pay back shareholders.

Ruiz Mateos has also been trying to avoid appearing in a court case against him in Mallorca. After being detained in Madrid, flown to Palma and physically taken to court at the behest of the judge, he exercised his right not to declare in a case in which he is accused of fraud in connection with the purchase of a hotel in Mallorca. He has also accused the judge at the court in Palma of being  ”A demon, a criminal. She has no heart or feelings. She is a bug proud and arrogant.”  This may not help his case…

Jerez Town Council has launched an initiative to promote and improve the ambience of the Fiesta de la Vendimia to be held between the 11^th and 16^th of this month. Officials met with the leader of local businesses and have come up with 2 ideas. One is to promote local wines: a copa of Sherry and a tapa for 2.50 euros, and the other to promote Flamenco. 18 bars will be involved. Complementary to this will be the Rutas Flamenco y Vino. Details can be had from discoverjerez.com. Looks wonderful! Meanwhile Fedejerez (the body which represents the bodegas) has agreed with the Consejo to display old Fiesta de la Vendimia posters from 1948 to 1985 in shop windows throughout the town centre. There will also be an exhibition of photographs about the vendimia by members of the Asociacion Fotografica San Dionisio at the Alcazar from tomorrow till the end of the month.

Mechanical harvesting

Much of the 2012 Sherry harvest is being collected mechanically. This year, certainly, with the heat wave, conditions are most unpleasant for human pickers, but the machines can work under any conditions, even at night which is actually a better time to pick because the grapes are less prone to liquid loss and oxidation.  A few bodegas own a machine but many simply pay a company with the machines to do their harvest for them. The machines start with the regions which harvest earliest then move on to the next, working Northwards generally.

The machine can pick at least 100 times as much as a man, and because it works by vibration, it harvests only grapes, not the stalks. After the wine harvests, the machine can be adjusted to then pick olives in November. Machines now pick more grapes than humans because they are simply more efficient. The days of hundreds of jolly pickers singing and chattering as they snip each bunch are almost gone. Use of machines depends on the terrain of course, and it should be borne in mind that the vines need to be planted and trained according to the abilities of the machines. It was in the 1980s when machines first appeared in Jerez, but they were never used generally as they were prone to damage the vines. Now in the 21^st century they have improved dramatically and are used much more widely. This is a worldwide trend, and Spain is only now beginning to catch up with about 200 machines, where France, with less land under vine has about 4,000.

News from Jerez 23.8.12

Beltran Domecq, President of the Consejo Regulador of Jerez has been out in the vineyards to see for himself the difficulties of the 2012 harvest. He acknowledged that the expected drop in yields this year was about 20%, but given the extended drought and the heatwaves experienced this August, the figure could drop further. If the 2013 vintage were as bad, it would pose serious problems for Jerez.  At least this year’s harvest is looking good from a quality point of view.

However if one looks back there is hope. This year has brought barely 350 litres/square metre of rain, but last year brought more than the average at 750 l/ m2, and the previous year over 1000 l/m2.  Reserve stocks are not too bad but could be under pressure from the small crop, caused by the weather and also a drop of about 9% in vineyard area due to uprooting.

Sr Domecq reckons that existing stocks will see the bodegas through the next four to four and a half years. The chances of four more years like this are most unlikely, but not impossible what with global warming. However one shouldn’t forget the capacity of the albariza soils for water retention, allowing the vines access to water under extreme conditions.

Sr Domecq also pointed out the importance of the growers. “Nobody who loves Sherry should forget that the wine starts in the vineyards: the land. It is a fundamental pillar which we should value.”

News from Jerez 17.8.12

Due to the scarcity of grapes or wine forecast for this year throughout Spain, good offers of up to 32 centimos/kilo have been coming in from outside the Sherry zone, which represent  2 – 5 centimos more than the prices offered or contracted by the Sherry bodegas for this year. The bodegas’ 3 year contracts however, offer annual increases of 3 centimos, so it is a difficult decision for growers who are not contracted – generally cooperatives - as the offer only covers this year’s harvest. While the Sherry harvest will probably be reduced on last year by about 25%, many other Spanish regions are facing drops of about 15%, all due to the drought. Let us hope the grapes stay in Jerez to replenish the stocks.

News from Jerez 25.7.12

At the first full meeting of the Consejo Regulador with Beltran Domecq as president, the harvest took up a lot of discussion. At the end of the meeting he underlined the consensus in matters on the agenda, in particular confirming harvest forecasts of a drop of 15-20% which in terms of grapes qualifying for DO Sherry represent a drop of 7-15% to about 52-62,000 butts. This was also confirmed by Cesar Saldana, director general of the Consejo.

Owing to the predicted deficit versus annual sales for which 85,000 butts are needed (23,000 more than the harvest will provide), messrs. Domecq and Saldana pointed out that the bodegas already have stocks of about 360,000 butts, enough to last for four and a half years. Given the balance achieved between planted vineyard and the bodegas' requirements, the Consejo is content with a modest rise in grape prices, although  it is really up to the growers and bodegas to decide between themselves.

As Beltran Domecq said, "The grapes are very important for Sherry, and a decent price should be paid in order to produce the level of quality needed for Sherry. The price has increased over last year's which was too low, and contracts for three years have been made with prices rising in each campaign." They will rise from about 27 centimos to 33 centimos, the price which the growers say is their break-even price, but the Consejo is hoping they will do their bit for stability.