September 2023, it's harvest time

11 September 2023

September is awaited every year with bated breath and fingers crossed, in the hope that the weather will grant a peaceful harvest of the grapes. Indeed, in the Verona area, September opens the harvest season, an extremely delicate moment which in a few weeks can determine the success or failure of an entire year of work.

The 2023 vintage promises to be good, albeit complicated, as it is characterized by frequent rainfall and difficulties related to the development of fungal diseases. Compared to the 2022 season, which had been particularly hot and dry, an increase in production yields is expected, by virtue of a greater fertility of the buds and a greater enlargement of the grapes due to good water availability. In particular, for the province of Verona, an increase in production of around +10% is expected for the main cultivated vines and +5/7% for the minor varieties, both white and black, with the exception of the areas heavily affected by the violent thunderstorms and hailstorms in July and August, which particularly affected lower Lake Garda. More and more, in the near future, we will have to expect to face extreme meteorological events, but Italian viticulture is proving to be able to face positively these climatic situations, which are becoming reality rather than sporadic events.

The high pressure of fungal diseases is another problem that is characterizing the current year, in particular downy mildew, which has heavily affected especially organic farms. However, where these problems have been dealt with professionally and effectively, thanks to increasingly targeted and precise treatments, production yields should not undergo particular variations and, indeed, increase slightly, just as the quality of the grapes should remain at good-excellent levels.

As regards the start of the harvest, the particular weather conditions delayed the start of the harvest by about 7-10 days, which for the main Veronese varieties, Corvina and Garganega, was postponed respectively to 20th and 25th of September .

The harvest is undoubtedly the busiest month for every winery, but here with us it is also and above all an intense moment of celebration and sharing. In fact, the manual harvesting of the grapes allows us to slow down the pace: concentrate on selecting the best bunches, spend the day outdoors, chat with the neighbor, sing a song together. In short, a real celebration of the past year, which does not remain limited to individual cellars, but spreads throughout the Verona area, with countless demonstrations and events dedicated to the world of grapes and wine which take place in this period in every corner of the province.

New this year is the legislation that regulates the tourist harvest: finally it will be possible for anyone staying in the area, not only to visit the cellars and taste the wines, but also to participate in complete safety in the grape harvesting activities in the field.

You can be the one to "get your hands dirty" and select the bunches which will then be transformed into wine. The producers are ready to open the doors of their vineyards, and we have organized group harvest days with them, starting from Verona.

In collaboration with Azienda Agricola Fugolo Gianluca we have planned an entire day in the vineyard (Friday 29th of September), dedicated to the experience of harvesting and pressing the grapes! Visit the dedicated page to discover all the details and register for this event.