ENOLOGISTS AND WINEMAKERS WITH SHOVELS AND BUCKETS…BUT NOT ON THE BEACH. THIS YEAR’S CLIMATIC CONDITIONS HAVE ANTICIPATED THE GRAPE HARVEST FORCING MANY SECTOR WORKERS TO CANCEL ONE OF ITALY’S MOST IMPORTANT HOLIDAYS. OPINIONS FROM NUMEROUS REGIONS…

“I haven’t told them yet and I’m not sure how to tell my daughters that, because of the climatic tendency this year and a consequent anticipation of the grape harvest, I think we will have to skip the traditional vacation at the sea for this August holiday…” Vincenzo Pepe, enologist at the Lungarotti winery, is not optimistic about the possibilities of recuperation and re-equilibrating of the vegetal-productive period for a year that has been decidedly precocious.
“In respect to the usual” – continued the technician from the historic Torgiano winery – “we are ahead of schedule by at least 3 weeks, and this thanks to the rains and relative cool temperatures in the second half of June, could have otherwise been worse. Winter was decidedly anomalous and a spring with above average temperatures made for a March that already saw the first buds.
I think that for precocious varieties like Chardonnay, the harvest could begin around 10-15 August, given that we have had to change all of our company holiday plans”.

Though a little less definitive in judgment, but still along the same lines of reasoning, Lorenzo Landi, enologist of Saiagricola (Colpetrone, La Poverina, Fattoria del Cerro: or rather Sagrantino di Montefalco, Brunello di Montalcino, Nobile di Montepulciano) and consultant for many Italian winemakers noted: “we are ahead of schedule, on average of about two weeks, but it is necessary to make a distinction. Some areas have not been affected by the heat; I think Etna and Vulture, for example.”

But for Carlo Ferrini, acclaimed consultant throughout Italy (from Donnafugata to San Leonardo, from Castello di Fonterutoli to Tasca d’Almerita, from Casanova di Neri to Valle Reale), it is too soon to tell exactly when the harvest will be, though, “in Tuscany this year the harvest will definitely be in August; and in respect to the usual, operations will begin in the third week instead of the fourth. I think winery workers should get ready to revise their holiday plans…”

And for opinions, it is fundamental that Italy’s, and one of the worlds, most important winemakers, Riccardo Cotarella, has also made his predictions. He emphasizes that it is important to be prudent and remember that it is still difficult to tell: “the quality is determined from today onward and there has been certain recuperation, thanks to the good day-night temperature variations in recent days. There are some extra problems that could be calculated in the first forecasts, like in some southern regions such as Calabria, Puglia and Sicily, that were ‘burned’ by winds arriving from Libya”.

And speaking of the South, Luigi Molo, enology professor at the University of Napoli Federico II, thinks there will be an average anticipation of about 15 days in Campania, with a few more difficulties for the coast compared to inland areas. “We’ll see however” – stated the professor – “what will happen in July and August”.

On the other part of the peninsula, in the suggestive Langhe region, and home of some of the most fascinating wines of Italy, Roberto Massolino of ‘Vigna Rionda’, has demonstrated a cautious optimism: “it is true that we are ahead by about 10-15 days, in fact the first Dolcetto grape berries are already starting to mature. But there was a bit of cool weather which helps with the perfect balance for vegetative processes”. This might mean that at least the Piedmontese will be lucky enough to enjoy a few days at the sea in August before this year’s harvest.