Italian winemakers predicting early harvest, as drought takes hold
The Italian wine industry is gearing up for the 2017 harvest, with winemakers keeping their fingers crossed for some much-needed rainfall in the coming weeks.
In Tuscany the lack of rain has begun to put pressure on the vines and to have a negative impact on crops.
“2017 has been a challenging growing year, with the remarkable freeze in mid April which luckily did not do too much damage to our best vineyards, which lie at higher elevations,” said Marco Fizialetti, director of sales for Castello di Querceto in Greve in Chianti. The lack of rain was not yet critical, he said, and the vines were not showing any obvious signs of stress, adding that he expected this year’s harvest to be two weeks earlier than usual.
“But if we don’t see any rain from here to September, of course, then the situation could be much more severe.”
Giulio Carmassi, director of winemaking for Gagliole, in Castellina in Chianti is another producer praying for rain: “Sangiovese, by its very DNA, copes well with pronounced lack of water, but this year pushed that to the limit, with 50% less rainfall in the first six months, compared to the norm,” he said. “Veraison is coming some 15 days earlier than usual, and during this phase the vine must have an adequate water supply in order to synthesize the anthocyanins and begin the ripening process.”
Another winemaker anticipating an early harvest is Fabrizio Lazzeri, at Tenute Silvio Nardi, in Montalcino: “In spite of the dry period and of the humidity, most of our vineyards are coping well, since they are planted in deep soils and enjoy good groundwater reserves,” he said. "Ripening is on an early curve and the seeds are already hardening, and we are now cluster-thinning. The clusters are small and even, with average berry size, moderate weight, and good skins. We expect that harvest will be 10-15 days early.”
Paola De Blasi, director of production for I Veroni in Rufina stressed the importance of careful canopy management in such dry conditions. "Right now, the growth phases are quite a bit ahead of normal, but there’s a long way to go yet, and it is hard to say if harvest will hew to the norm.”
In the Trentino region, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga of San Leonardo said that his vineyards were unaffected by the dry weather. “The clusters are healthy and sound,” he said, attributing this in part to the vineyard’s organic approach, which he claimed was “invaluable” in combating mildew, a serious threat in the region this year.
In the south of Italy, winemakers in Campania have had a few millimetres of rain recently bringing some relief to the vines, but Puglia in the south east of the country, where many vines are irrigated, is beginning to suffer from lack of rainfall, with high temperatures slowing down the vines.
In Basilicata, Viviana Malafarina of Basilisco near Mount Vulture described the season as “unusual for our area” with little snow in winter and just as little rain, with the exception of a couple of downpours in April and June.
“But the unusual geological feature of the Vulture, is that its ash and basalt strata hold pockets of water, which are invaluabale in even the driest stretches.” As to ripening he said he was “in line with the norm, expecting his agliancico to begin veraison in mid-August.