We wanted to understand, in their own words, a little more about their expectations and what they like most about this time of year. This is what we discovered.
Ricardo Sarrazola, David Baverstock, Sandra Alves and Ana Alves
1. What can we expect from this year’s wines
At this stage we can expect good quality, considering this year’s vegetative cycle. The rain and cooler temperatures this spring, which extended until July, delayed the cycle, but created the ideal conditions for good vine development. And now, the temperatures have been more reasonable, after the heatwave that took place in the beginning of August. Therefore, if this persists, from now on we can expect white wines that are concentrated, fresh and with good acidity, and red wines that are complex, elegant and have good phenolic ripeness.
2. How did the new winery improve red wine production?
The principal advantage in terms of quality is that we can pick the grapes at their optimal ripeness and, with the increase in capacity, we can prolong fermentation, maximising the inherent quality of the raw material.
3. What do you enjoy most about this time of year?
The excitement of receiving the raw material and all the potential that it may reveal in the future. The harvest takes place during a short period of time (compared with the total lifecycle of the product) – we have about six to eight weeks to work the grapes we receive. It is something that must be done during that time.
Therefore, it completely immerses us. We enter a very particular mindset, where we feel the need and desire to maximise the full potential of material that is only available at this time of year.
Then it’s the curiosity, to accompany the evolution and transformation of the grapes into wine, the surprises. The buzz in the wineries, seeing the winery full, the typical scents of the harvest: of the newly arrived grapes, the fermentation, the unique pace at this time of year.
When we are focused on something good, that we love, we forget everything else around us. It involves many hours of hard work and personal effort, but time flies.
