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In Burgundy and Champagne, grapes of the so-called second harvest, weighing up to 150 grams, are currently ripening. Normally, these stingy grapes, which form after the main harvest, do not ripen and remain on the vine. The viticultural consultant Olivier Zebic now reports from Burgundy about blossoming cherry trees and "huge grapes with a potential alcohol content of 13 percent. If it were legal, my clients could harvest 20 hl/ha more Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in many vineyards." In Gevrey-Chambertin, he says, he has been asked by tourists when the harvest will take place.
Zebic says he is amazed at the good taste, extract and colour of the grapes. Apart from occasional botrytis, they are healthy. He attributes this exceptional development to the mild autumn weather and foresees problems for the next vintage: "What these grapes use up in energy does not go into the vines' reserves. This is likely to make the next budbreak difficult and affect vigour." The winemakers were surprised by the development and could not react by removing the grapes, he said. "Now it's too late, the plateau of sugar load on the berries has been reached. It is a pity that we cannot do anything with them".
(al / source: vitisphere; photo: Olivier Zebic)
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Harvest in Bordeaux and Champagne has begun