In Bierzo harvest usually begins mid-September till end October. It’s the final exam, the result of all the vineyard work throughout the entire year. All our efforts to carefully study and follow-up each plot finally reach the final point. Pruning is the first step and how the viticulture year starts and then comes ploughing. In May is when de-leafing is carried out to remove leaves, shoots and any unwanted vegetative growth in order to control the yield of each vine and in July approximately, just before the veraison, is when we do the green harvesting or crop thinning to remove unwanted bunches to get more concentration and quality. This allows not only to control the yield and obtain a higher quality, but also to guarantee the best sanitary conditions possible and a better aeration.

The selection of the vineyards and the decision of when to pick the grapes are crucial. Many factors are taken into account and influence this decisive moment : the type of soil, the orientation of each plot, the altitude, the age of the vines are only a few of them, but the one determining when to pick the grapes is the phenolic ripeness.

Therefore the grapes are picked in different phases depending on the ripeness of each plot. On a daily basis the ripeness of each vineyards is checked to be able to decide on the best time to pick the grapes. By then everything is ready at the cellar. After the first selection in the vineyards, the grapes are then selected on a sorting table by expert hands to make sure only the best bunches will be vinified.

But harvest is much more than picking grapes and all the required efforts to do so. Harvest is a real wine celebration!

If you are interested in getting further details, recent harvest reports are available.