Ripening status report No. 1: the awaited start.
We start publishing the results of the ripeness monitoring grape samplings: on this first week, we include figures on Rioja Oriental. Figures on Rioja Alta and Alavesa will be made available from next week.
Ripeness monitoring allows grape growers to determine the ideal date of harvest in each town, thereby optimising fruit quality and that of the wines made with it.
Ripeness monitoring tasks carried out by the Control Board last Monday 27, show that things are starting as expected and that the grapes are in good condition. Compared to last season, there is a delay that is estimated at about 15-20 days, but the ripeness status is normal for recent years, including 2016.
The results show that the harvest, which began yesterday, Tuesday, in Aldeanueva de Ebro, in the Rioja Oriental area, with the Tempranillo Blanco harvest, is marked with very positive expectations both in quality and quantity. Only some vineyards of the most precocious white varieties, Tempranillo blanco, Sauvignon blanc and Chardonnay, are approaching ripeness in the earliest areas.
Pablo Franco, Director of the Control Body of the Rioja Control Board, highlights “the great work that the winegrowers have done in dealing with weather difficulties” and predicts “a long and staggered harvest that will allow them to adapt to each one of the zones in order to reach the necessary ripeness levels and meet the production expectations set by the Control Board.”
Those are the main conclusions of the first Ripening status report published by the Control Board. The Board will continue to carry out ripeness monitoring in the rest of the region over the coming weeks, as it is a key service which allows grape growers to determine the ideal date of harvest in each town, thereby optimising fruit quality and that of the wines made with it.
