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Spanish DO Valdepeñas reports 5% drop in harvest

Published:  18 October, 2017

DO Valdepeñas has reported a 5% year-on-year drop in this year’s harvest, ending the season with a total of 93.4 million kilos of grapes.

Data released for this year’s harvest showed a volume decline of 5.7 million kilos compared to the previous harvest in 2016, which translates to a drop of 5%, according to the region.

The drop, which was more sharp in white than red grapes, was mainly caused by the weather – very little rain and very high temperatures in the summer, said the DO, adding other Spanish regions had seen steeper declines due to more significant conditions, such as hale.   

The harvest season had developed under normal conditions in the vineyards and in the wineries, with more than 2,500 wine growers in the region having picked their grapes in “perfect sanitary” conditions and high quality standards, it said.

“This year’s quality predicts a good classification of 2016´s vintage, although we would have to wait until March, when most part of the wines are ready and certified,” said the DO, which comprises approximately 22,000 hectares of vineyards certified in this appellation.

Around 38 million kilos are white grapes authorized in this appellation (Muscatel de Grano Menudo, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Macabeo, Verdejo and Airen) and 55.4 million kilos are red grapes of the following varieties: Petit Verdot, Grenache, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo.

The maximum yields per hectares in order to make wines under DO Valdepeñas are 6,000 kilos for red grapes and 7,500 for white grapes.

Vineyards, whose grapes are used for table wines or other quality standards, had suffered from “greater decreases”, said DO Valdepeñas.

DO Valdepeñas, which claims to be the second appellation in the Spanish off-trade, said this year’s weather conditions in the area of had presented high temperatures and scarce rain during spring and summer, which resulted in an early harvest (around 15 days earlier than 2016) and the grapes had a normal maturation cycle according to the characteristics of the area.

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