2022. Welcome to one of the most difficult harvests ever.
let’s hear about it. It is common to hear there are no two equal harvests. And that all are challenging. And that the year, despite everything, promises spectacular wines. Yeah…. There are no two similar grapevine cycles, perfect timing or a decision that repeats itself. That’s the viticulture life, especially in times of extreme climate events. But in this beautiful winemaking world, there is also the reality, the chaos, the days of uncertainty where everything goes wrong. And, let’s face it, 2022 goes into the records as one of the hardest ever. Period!
My 21st vintage gave me the usual 16 000kms, going from cellar to cellar, region to region, in an intense adventure that, despite all, is the part we can control. However, we couldn’t prevent the extreme drought and water stress that the vines were exposed to (except where we could irrigate), the heat waves and the consequent damage in several varieties. Harvest started earlier. We began at Herdade Grande in Alentejo in July, making it the earliest ever. We had very good fruit because the viticulture was well done, and we could irrigate. This way, we could minimise the heat waves’ impact.
In Biscoitos, Terceira Island in the Azores, we lost a considerable amount of grapes due to heavy storms. Generally, harvest started with irregular maturation levels that made us run to get the grapes in the cellar. Then we stopped. Only to start running again, making it even more complicated for the harvest teams in the vineyards and the cellar. In the middle of all these indecisions, the rain came down strong in all regions. It didn’t significantly impact the projects where we had harvested almost everything, but in general, a lot of the red grapes were still on the field.
And that is why 2022 went straight to the worst harvests I can remember. I hear it is the year of the oenology, where the cellar work has more impact than ever. It is essential to follow the wine evolution closely, make early decisions and exclude what needs to be excluded, particularly if we have high standards to keep. The bottled volume will be much lower as the production was 30% less, creating an even more difficult situation adding to the increased production costs and higher prices of energy, cellar products, everything, really!
More than just the harvest, the business becomes even more challenging. Labour is a continued problem, the teams are getting older, and replacements are difficult to find. So our work capacity is getting lower. In the middle of all the difficulties, we also have some exciting news. 2022 is the year I share the production of two pure amphora wines, a red and a white, done in Reguengos with a great friend and winemaker. Together we have many ideas for the future. Soon we will talk more about it. Meanwhile, we are there working on the 2022 wines in the cellar. A challenging year that is promising spectacular wines. Hmmm… I don’t think it will be a historic year. Most likely, the whites will show better than the reds. But let’s see!
