Our harvest 2016 officialy starts today in Tenuta Civranetta, where we are picking up Pinot Grigio grapes. In these days, nice weather and good temperatures are helping the grapes maturing and are a great support for our work in the vineyards. We couldn’t expect anything better than this, after such an unstable year!
Let’s sum up this vintage facts…
Weather trends
The season had a bad start. Winter temperatures has been higher that average and there was almost no rainfall in december and january.
The end of spring was the hardest period. May and June were able to bring more rain than the whole winter time did, and temperatures were very unstable.
Luckily, July was hot and dry, thus restoring the normal average temperatures, and August was characterized by a cooler temperature and a higher fluctuation between night and day.
The grapes
The warm winter brought forward the bud break and the flowering period was long.
Spring rain endangered flowers pollination and slightly reduced the fruit set percentage, causing berries to grow more sparse comparing to last year. This has had very positive aspects in this vintage context. Air could easily flow through the bunches, making fruits healthier, despite the intense and prolonged humidity period. The Pinot Grigio is probably the one that took more advantage of this phaenomenon, because it has very small and compact bunches.
In July, the perfect climate conditions for the veraison stage (phase during which the berry changes its color) were restored and the ripening process went on very well.
Timing
Pinot Grigio: 1st-2rd September
Chardonnay: 7th-8th September
Wine and expectations
During the last weeks of august, the temperature fluctuation preserved the acids in the berries, which will be useful during the vinification, and perfumes were enriched. These characteristics mean that the quality of grapes we are picking up is high and we expect wines with a rich bouquet and a good durability.
