If there are no mishaps resulting from adverse weather conditions, the harvest that has just begun and will end in a few weeks can be a good productive experiencewhich if materialized would mean a third positive productive cycle for the actors of the national wine sector.
“This vintage is going very well, we can have another good harvest, but there is still a long way to go,” he told The Observer the oenologist Cristina Camejo, head of the Viticultural Department of the National Institute of Viticulture (Inavi).
He commented that during a key moment of the productive cycle, recently, there were a few days with many hours of sunshine, which allowed the grapes to be in perfect health and quality conditions.
Regarding the recent episodes of rains, the cases of adverse affectations were very punctual.
Camejo explained that already the harvest of white grapes began, such as those of the Viognier and Sauvignon varietieswithout the harvest of the late whites or the first reds, such as Moscatel or Tannat and Merlot, which will be picked from the vineyards later, once they reach the appropriate level of maturation, have yet been activated.
As reported in the geographic viewer of the site inavi.com.uythe total area occupied by vineyards in the country is 5,870.3 hectares, with 12,433 squares.
100% of the vineyards are georeferenced and in the aforementioned tool it is possible, to mention an example, to know how much of the area is occupied by the Tannat variety and where that variety is produced in the country.
Asked about the number of winegrowers involved this year in grape production, Camejo mentioned that there are 1,200 to 1,400 producers.
the background
During the 2021 harvest, in an area of vineyards of nearly 6,000 hectares, just over 1,200 producers produced some 100 million kilos of grapes.
This allowed the vinification of about 78 million liters.
About 200 wineries participated in this elaboration.
It was exported 4% less in volume than in 2020, but the price improved with an average of US$ 3.60 per liter.
Revenue was up on product value enhancement and was $19 million for eight million 3/4-liter bottles.
