#harvest17

The first day of the grape harvest is always a special moment, a sort of release of the tension that has built up in your body and mind.

This year it really will be a release, from one of the most complicated vintages ever, in which we expect a drop in yields per hectare of about 40%.

Frost, hailstones, scorching hot sun and, above all, drought, have made this summer a nightmare, and it has given us the earliest harvest within living memory.

If I’m honest, this is the first time that we’ve been slightly confused as to what the outcome might be, because the low yields are joined by the fact that there is a certain quantity of withered grapes, which could influence the characteristic red freshness of the Barbera.