(Montalcino, 20 settembre 2012) – The harvest of white grapes, which began on August 22nd with Chardonnay followed by Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc, is already completed. The grapes, which due to high temperatures were picked from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day, were of good quality, though yield was lower by about 25% compared to last year, a decrease due mainly to the dry and hot summer.
This week we started harvesting the early ripening red varietals (syrah & merlot), and even at this early point we can conclude that for the red varietals as well we will see lower quantities but good quality. We will start harvesting the Sangiovese in a few days. The weather pattern of the last few weeks is proving to be key for a good ripening of polyphenols thanks to a good variation between daytime and nighttime temperatures as well as some light rainfall that helped reestablish balance for this most important ripening phase for Sangiovese.