It is now “that” time of the year. The 5 or 6-week period for which we work all year long it is now about to start: the harvest. We start to feel a bit nervous, and see the pressure of our work of the previous eleven months being now tested. And everything will start tomorrow morning, September 17th. First, will come the white grapes and a few days latter we will start with the red grapes from Quinta das Mós, located in the upper Douro Superior.
How do I see this harvest? In terms of quantity, and although it is very difficult to make an accurate assessment because of each terroir’s variability, I would say that is in line with the average. Regarding the quality of the harvest, it’s even more difficult to determine although from the samples we’ve taken, I guess it won’t be neither outstanding nor horrible, for sure (unless it starts raining non-stop for the next two weeks). Maybe it will be just in line with the average, as for the volume.
The maturation is about a couple of weeks behind, as the flowering and color changing also arrived later. The phenolic maturity is a bit behind the alcohol, meaning that grapes will show a higher potential alcohol when reaching the perfect (if that exists) harvest timing. Red grapes will be harvested around 14 days later than last year, when compared with the beginning of the harvest last year. White grapes are not as late for harvesting, as we need to preserve the acidity before it fades away to quick.
Time to enjoy the last hours of free time of the next 6 weeks!
Oscar
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