Harvest Blog, Mario Pablo Silva, Vina Casa Silva, Chile

Published: 24 February, 2009

Welcome to the first of our harvest blogs direct from Mario Pablo Silva, managing director of Viña Casa Silva based in the
Colchagua Valley, Chile. He will be giving a weekly update from Chile on how the harvest is going for 2009

We've just completed our first week of harvesting at Viña Casa Silva. It's a very exciting time to be in both the vineyards and the winery. We have a growing number of pickers joining us every day as we get busier. In total we'll have hosted an extra 400 workers by the end of the harvest - and this creates a wonderful party atmosphere!

The potential for 2009 is looking very promising. We started last Friday, initially picking the Sauvignon Gris around the winery in our Angostura Estate. These are some of our oldest vines, dating back to 1912, that produce only a very small yield. The concentration of flavours in the grapes is truly wonderful and should produce some exquisite wines.

Next week we'll be starting to pick in our 150 hectare estate in Los Lingues in the foothills of the Andes. These are the vineyards surrounding my house and my five children love to watch the comings and goings of the pickers every day. Viña Casa Silva was the first wine producer to establish vineyards in Los Lingues, but it's now recognized as one of the best areas in Colchagua - it's certainly one of the most beautiful!

This is a very early harvest for us this year - we don't usually start picking until the end of February or beginning of March - but we've had the most extraordinary summer with temperatures regularly up to 34°C. Luckily the nights have been cool, allowing the vines to rest and keeping acidity levels high. So far we're looking at a potential alcohol of between 13 and 14% vol, which is ideal for us.

But for now I must get back to the vineyards. Until next week, saludos....

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