Vintage countdown

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 10:32 Mon 13 Jul 2009

As we approach mid July, it is time to start looking toward harvest.

When we were in the Douro a couple of weeks ago, I was impressed by the apparent healthiness of the vines; which showed few signs of pests and diseases, or of suffering as a consequence of the drought that has been worrying Johnny Symington in his Douro Insider reports. That said, he has yet to file his June report, and I don't know how much rain fell that month.

Flowering and fruit set appears to have been even and uneventful this year.

Looking at the current crop of weather forecasts, I am somewhat bewildered by their inability to agree - one is forecasting heavy rain for this thursday, while another is predicting seamless sunshine and much higher temperatures.

One of my favourite sites, the US National Hurricane Center, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ is showing a complete absence of tropical cyclones. These cyclones, which can develop into tropical storms and hurricanes, are the biggest threat to the vintage as they circuit the Atlantic. From their genesis off the coast of Africa to their arrival in europe (although some get swallowed by the US mainland) takes from two to four weeks. While they are fascinating to track, no news is also good news.

The veraison or pintor of the grapes should be happening about now; an even colour change is normally a good sign - any word from the front line?

Tom

Andy Velebil · Post by **Andy Velebil** » 15:30 Mon 13 Jul 2009

I saw the vines at Crasto and Passadouro but only from a short walk along the road next to the ends of the rows. Sadly, I'm not an experienced viticulturist, and so short of vines not having any fruit set yet or having red leaves this early, there is nothing I could tell about their health by looking at vines. And even then, two or possibly three Quintas don't exactly constitute a representative cross sample.

As for rain, I got to see how rain in the Douro can be very spotty. I was out in the vineyards in a brief rain shower at Crasto then the sun came back out. Yet Noval, less than one mile to the east on the other side of the Pinhao valley, wasn't touched by that same brief rain. Miguel also talked about rain at this time of year and said that brief showers do no harm, provided there is also plenty of warmth. I suspect he knows far more than I will ever know about how to grow grapes in the Douro.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 16:26 Mon 13 Jul 2009

Now then Andy, did you get out of bed with a hangover this morning??

I'm not claiming to be an expert in viticulture, but I do know a healthy plant when I see one; and in case you didn't notice, I did go for quite a long stroll through the vines at Noval.

Nor am I claiming to be an expert in Douro rainfall; but if you read Johnny Symington's reports you would know that rainfall has been his biggest worry; so it was reassuring to see that the vegetation (of all types) was not obviously in the grip of a severe drought.

Tom

Andy Velebil · Post by **Andy Velebil** » 16:59 Mon 13 Jul 2009

No hang over

But you tend to take only a very small fraction of information and base your entire views of a vintage on it. What I am trying to impart is just because one Quinta may or may not have issues, the Quinta next door can have to opposite problem, or no problems at all. I figured you seeing first hand how the weather can be so different and Miguel explaining how it does or doesn't effect the vines, you would change your lone views on the matter. I guess not.

I've occasionally worked on vineyards, have family and many friends that have or continue to work on vineyards, and I can't impart enough that an inexperienced person (that's you and me) in vineyard management cannot tell how a vine is doing at this stage by a simple stroll in the vines for a few minutes. (obvious damage such as I've already mentioned being the exception)

You still fail to realize just how many micro-climates there are in the Douro and you continue to base your theories on a tiny fraction of information. Matter of fact all the producers we saw stated it was still far to early to speculate how the harvest would go so far. At this stage all seems fairly well, albeit it will possibly be a later than normal harvest in some areas. But even that is still to early to tell for sure.

Axel P · Post by **Axel P** » 17:14 Mon 13 Jul 2009

Btw I heard that the rainfall combined with the high temperatures at the Douro that occured, when we were there, could easily become a mildew problem

Axel
Not a vinicultural expert in any kind

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 18:02 Mon 13 Jul 2009

Andy,

I started this thread with the intention of creating a friendly focal point for gathering information on the vintage as the season unfolded, presenting the information known so far in a carefully qualified manner.

Now, on day one, you have launched into gratuitous personal abuse founded on wild assumptions.

I think you are out of order.

Tom

Edit: I notice that Mr Velebil has completely re-worded his first post; but find it regrettable that he has lacked the courage to apologise.

Andy Velebil · Post by **Andy Velebil** » 02:27 Tue 14 Jul 2009

Tom,
I know you had the opportunity to speak to a number of qualified producers recently, both in the Douro and in Gaia. Can you shed some light on what they stated was the state of their fields so far this year?

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 08:04 Tue 14 Jul 2009

I heard the same as Axel, that the current conditions are ones in which mildew and oidium might become a problem. While I was in the Douro, I saw vineyards being sprayed and heard a couple of vineyard managers saying that they would be undertaking a green harvest and some foliage removal in order to improve the circulation of air through the vines to keep the risk of fungal attack as low as possible.

I also heard that so far, conditions are cool but satisfactory and with warm days and cool nights they are consistent with producing ripe grapes with good levels of acidity - but some increased heat in July and August would be welcome otherwise a late harvest was likely.

Alex

Post by **DRT** » 08:28 Tue 14 Jul 2009

AHB wrote:some increased heat in July and August would be welcome otherwise a late harvest was likely.

That was the strongest message I heard in the few days I was there. I also recall a worker handing a newly picked grape to one of our hosts to point out the onset of odium.

Derek

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 17:41 Tue 14 Jul 2009

From what I have seen and heard, oidium is currently receiving some attention. During the last weeks the weather alternated between rainy days and hot afternoons. The humidity has been higher this year than in other years and we have some oidium in our vines in zones lacking air circulation.

Mildew is not a problem. We have sprayed our vines quite late - we risked a lot - but mildew didn't appear, probably because of the cold nights. I just could find a dried bunch.

Regarding the harvest, is as you say, everything is late probably a couple of weeks, and we need some warmer days in the remaining days of July and August to ripen the grapes.

Post by **DRT** » 18:07 Tue 14 Jul 2009

Thanks, Oscar - please keep dropping more information into this thread as the season progresses. As you can see there is lots of interest in this subject here (even if we can never all agree

) so I am sure everyone would appreciate updates from someone who is there on the ground to see the weather and vine conditions on a daily basis.

Thanks
Derek

Post by **jdaw1** » 20:18 Wed 15 Jul 2009

Allow me to second Derek’s request: information even if only a brief updates from somebody there would be very welcome.

Andy Velebil · Post by **Andy Velebil** » 22:41 Wed 15 Jul 2009

jdaw1 wrote:Allow me to second Derek’s request: information even if only a brief updates from somebody there would be very welcome.

Yes please do continue. Any "front line" news is greatly appreciated.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 18:09 Sun 26 Jul 2009

From news reports, it looks as though the eastern side of Spain is turning into a tinder box, but drought doesn't seem to be a major news story in Portugal yet.

The forecasts for the Douro have only fleetingly indicated rain over the last few weeks, and there's nothing expected.

On the bright side, the forecast temperatures and sunshine have been looking very good.

But are the vines suffering from drought? - or is there enough ground water to see them through?

- any reports??

Tom

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 21:53 Mon 27 Jul 2009

Tom,

Have you thought about contacting the Portuguese Met Office and asking them if they are aware of any online weather feeds from the Douro region?

Alex

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 22:50 Wed 05 Aug 2009

Some rain appears to have fallen last weekend, as the 'Risco de Incendio' map on the site highlighted by Alex has been noticeably downgraded.

The current forecast is for heat, but not without thunder - how much rain, remains to be seen.

The Symington site has reported slightly above average rainfall for June, but receives the news with only grudging approval; I recall being told that anything less than a good soaking makes little odds in the summer months.

The hurricane season is looking very docile so far, with no named storms to date; and nothing obviously brewing. That said, late starting seasons have sometimes yielded vicious storms later..

Seems to have the potential for a very good vintage, if nothng goes badly wrong from here..

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 18:19 Tue 11 Aug 2009

The weather is now dryer in the Douro and temperature are going up, over 44Âº degrees in Ferradosa, very close to Vargellas.

While at the end of July there was some morning humidity and fog, these days we have no fog or even clods. In Quinta Vale d'Agodinho (very close to Ferradosa), at 2pm the temperatures were 42Âº, slightly reducing to 32Âº at 9 pm.

Yesterday I checked the ripeness of the grapes and I got a big surprise. The sugar content is VERY high (around 11.86% potential alcohol), with 6% of the berries over 15%. The skins are thin and the berries are easy to pull out of the bunch, it means we will have an early harvest.

So far I think there are conditions for a good harvest. But the weather still has a very important rule. If the temperatures continue so high for some more weeks the acids of the berries will reduce and we can have unbalanced Ports

. Other problem is the rain, the skin of the berry is thin and could break. Moreover, there is no room in the bunch for berries growing.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 18:58 Tue 11 Aug 2009

Oscar,

It's good to hear things are looking promising.

The weather forecasts are not indicating any rain, and the projections for the atlantic weather systems do not pose any immediate threat.

The hurricane season remains very placid, still with no named storms to date, and the identified depressions are showing very little momentum.

There seems a reasonable chance that the weather won't break until at least the end of the month - when do you expect to start picking?

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 20:37 Tue 11 Aug 2009

Tom,

We don't know yet when we will start harvesting. If we look back, in 2007 we started harvesting in the Douro Superior - Quinta das Olgas - at the 3rd of September and in Quinta Vale d'Agodinho on September 19th. But in 2007 the grapes were not so ripened as they are now:

August 10th in Quinta Vale d'Agodinho
2007: 10.5% potential alcohol
2009: 11.9% potential alcohol

It means we will probably have to anticipate the harvest in 5 to 7 days. As the weather is hot, the next 10 days are really important.

--

Post by **DRT** » 23:23 Tue 11 Aug 2009

Oscar,

Are you talking about grapes for dry wine only or for both wine and port? My understanding is that the port grapes tend to be picked later than those for dry wines and 16th to 21st August does seem very early for a port harvest.

Derek

g-man · Post by **g-man** » 00:52 Wed 12 Aug 2009

oscar quevedo wrote:Tom,

We don't know yet when we will start harvesting. If we look back, in 2007 we started harvesting in the Douro Superior - Quinta das Olgas - at the 3rd of September and in Quinta Vale d'Agodinho on September 19th. But in 2007 the grapes were not so ripened as they are now:

August 10th in Quinta Vale d'Agodinho
2007: 10.5% potential alcohol
2009: 11.9% potential alcohol

It means we will probably have to anticipate the harvest in 5 to 7 days. As the weather is hot, the next 10 days are really important.

--

also surprised if you picked them at such low brix. Would have thought port wines would be picked around the 14% mark?

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 08:47 Wed 12 Aug 2009

I was not very clear, sorry for that

. What I meant to say is that harvest will start 5 to 7 days early, comparing with 2007. So we would start in Douro Superior - Quinta das Olgas - around the 31st of August and in Ferradosa - Quinta Vale d'Agodinho - around September 14th. In any case these dates need to be confirmed by further analysis.

You are both right. For Port we use very ripened grapes, with higher degrees brix (14%-16%). Grapes for dry wines are picked up earlier, with lower brix, higher acidity and fresher flavours.

Andy Velebil · Post by **Andy Velebil** » 13:33 Wed 12 Aug 2009

Oscar,
Thanks for the update. And quite the turn around in the 5-6 weeks since many of us were there and there was talk of being a later than normal harvest. One can never predict mother nature that's for sure.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 14:09 Wed 12 Aug 2009

A tropical depression, so far known simply as 'TWO' started forming over a week ago south of Cape Verde, and is now beginning to gather pace across the Atlantic.

The forecasters are undecided as to whether this is likely to dissipate or develop into a hurricane. In the latter event, it is more likely to strike Bermuda than the US mainland; and would be likely, thereafter; to head across to europe.

One to watch..

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at2.sh ... l#contents

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 17:00 Fri 14 Aug 2009

Maybe it's influence of the tropical depression: the temperatures keep going up and there are some storms affecting specially the Douro Superior. Today the temperatures reached 46ÂºC (115Âº F) and a storm is coming up from the the southwest. No rain yet.

I was told that yesterday rained heavily in the upper Douro Superior. Here in S. JoÃ£o da Pesqueira the sky was cloudy at the end of the day but afterwards it cleaned.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 23:47 Fri 14 Aug 2009

I saw the extreme heat forecast, and wondered about storms, but the Accuweather forecast put the the storm risk at 0%, so I assumed the humidity was too low - hmm..

The BBC maps noted (rather belatedly) the passage of a narrow band of storms, cutting diagonally across Portugal and into Spain. This tallies with your account of them hitting the Douro Superior, but not elsewhere.

The BBC maps also show a very long thin band of rain that will come close to Portugal on about the 22nd; but so far, the forecasters are betting it will miss.

Further afield, tropical storm TWO has been downgraded, but has not gone away. An old friend who used to be a meterologist for the USAF (and now lives in Florida, so has more than a passing interest..) reckons it is unlikely to develop into a hurricane, but will probably serve to disrupt the weather pattern that has prevailed in the North Atlantic for the last couple of months.

Behind that, a potentially mighty storm has been forming over Cape Verde for the last week, and is now beginning to track west. It will probably be dubbed Hurricane Ana, the first atlantic hurricane of the year; within the next 48hrs (unless one of the lesser depressions suddenly develops first).

It has formed slightly to the south of 'TWO', and at the moment, looks more likely to crash into the the caribbean and USA than come charging across the pond - but I'm watching it!

Tom

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 15:21 Mon 17 Aug 2009

The band of rain previously forecast has fragmented, leaving a risk of a shower in the Douro early on Thursday, but it could well stay dry.

The hurricane season is playing London buses - after waiting a long time for a named storm to appear (the latest start to the season since 1992 - I think..) we get three named storms within 24 hours..

..say hello to Ana, Bill & Claudette..

Ana formed quite suddenly out of the remains of storm 'TWO' but is heading much further to the south west than was previously projected. It is most likely to graze the west of Florida and blow itself out over Georgia, although it could still pose a threat. Claudette also formed very suddenly in the gulf, but has since hit land and dissipated with equal speed.

Bill has formed from the depression I have been watching for about ten days now, and is looking big and nasty. If it stays on course it will pulverise Bermuda on Saturday. It's trajectory looks threatening, and could well find its way to europe at the end of the month; but whether it gives England a wet Bank holiday or europe a wet vintage remains to be seen..

Tom

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 23:34 Mon 17 Aug 2009

Bill now projected to go west of Bermuda - so more likely to slingshot into northern europe than Iberia.

Ana lacks stamina - appears to be dying.. - but top half of 'TWO', which went into a figure of eight formation, still has a little life left.

Cloud formations south west of Cape Verde not currently cyclonic. No sign of storm generation off African coast.

Risk of rain on Thursday now receding, extreme heat expected this weekend.

- Fingers crossed!

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 19:04 Tue 18 Aug 2009

We have had our doses of rain, as it stormed last Saturday all across the Douro. The temperatures cooled off for around 20ÂºC but since Sunday we are back to the high 30sÂº. Alcohol content will be higher this harvest as the sugar is already high and we need some more weeks to finish the phenolic ripeness.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 19:49 Tue 18 Aug 2009

Is there a weather forecaster - anywhere - who is good at predicting summer storms in the Douro? None of the sources i can find gave the slightest hint of a storm risk over the weekend..

More importantly, how much rain fell, and will it be detrimental? Oscar's past reports have suggested that the grapes might suffer if too much rain fell before harvest.

I've checked out the projections for Bill, and the consensus seems to favour the epicentre hitting northern France, or southern England, around the 30th.

If you're planning a barbecue over the bank holiday weekend, you might want to think again...

Tom

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 14:29 Wed 19 Aug 2009

Bill is projecting further north now, so its threat to the vintage is much reduced.

Although it is projected to arc sharply and make landfall on Newfoundland, it is currently strengthening; and if it arcs less sharply could crash into New York..

There are the beginnings of another system south of Cape Verde, but it will probably take a few days to pull itself together. There is another small southerly system that might earn a name, but will probably vanish into the gulf.

Otherwise looking fairly clear, although rain is still likely on the NW corner of Iberia tomorrow; however, it may not reach the Portuguese border.

Tom

Post by **jdaw1** » 21:24 Wed 19 Aug 2009

Oscar: a question perhaps for a different thread. Would you quote en primeur prices for your vintage port? If you don’t declare (or the IVDP prevents same), then the deal is cancelled. If you do declare, we’ve bought in advance. Direct to the consumer.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 22:58 Wed 19 Aug 2009

Have a look at this projection:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at3.sh ... l#contents

Are they trying to avoid panic in NY?

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 11:39 Sat 22 Aug 2009

jdaw1 wrote:Oscar: a question perhaps for a different thread. Would you quote en primeur prices for your vintage port? If you don’t declare (or the IVDP prevents same), then the deal is cancelled. If you do declare, we’ve bought in advance. Direct to the consumer.

This can be a very interesting proposal Julian, I had never thought about that. We would ship the Ports directly from the winery, right?

Regarding the harvest, ripeness is going crazy fast. Quinta da Alegria, a vineyard we have in the border between Cima Corgo and Douro Superior, on the right bank, a couple of miles east of Malvedos, was on Thursday with potential alcohol of 14.7%. People were not expecting it would go so quick. My sister is panicking because we need at least one week of hard work at the winery to be ready for harvesting.

The weather is cooling off, mainly during the night, which really helps to retain some acidity.

Post by **jdaw1** » 14:39 Sat 22 Aug 2009

You could offer 2009 (and indeed 2010) en primeur prices now. No need to wait until after the harvest. We pay money that is held in an escrow account until declaration decision. If declaration, customer has bought. If not, money returned.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 17:45 Sun 23 Aug 2009

Bill has arced round the US east coast, but after weakening seems to have done relatively little harm. It is now projected to power acrosss the altantic, hitting Scotland on Wednesday. Following on there are a couple of areas of fragmented cloud that might pull together, and there is still a little genesis going on south of Cape Verde; but the chances are it will be at least a fortnight before anything else of note heads across the pond, and hopefully longer.

The Douro will be cloudy tomorrow, with a small chance of the odd shower. France, on the other hand, has seen a lot of unsettled weather of late..

From what Oscar has told us, I imagine that picking (of the wine grapes at least) is now in full swing..

..any more reports from the front line?

Tom

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 15:36 Sun 30 Aug 2009

In the absence of reports from the front line, one can only look at the forecasts, which are, and have been, encouraging.

With the arrival of September come some risks of the odd shower, and much cooler nights - which is usually hailed as a good sign.

Following a short lived tropical storm 'Danny' which skirted the US east coast and then blew sand in my eyes at Weston super Mare last friday; we now have another system developing which is currently about 900 miles east of the Windward Isles and will probably be dubbed 'Erika' within the next 24hrs.

This has the potential to become a 'biggie', and might pose a threat in 10-14 days time.

Tom

SushiNorth · Post by **SushiNorth** » 04:08 Tue 01 Sep 2009

uncle tom wrote: we now have another system developing which is currently about 900 miles east of the Windward Isles and will probably be dubbed 'Erika' within the next 24hrs.

I've been watching that beast -- no thanks to weather.com which is trying to hide Atlantic maps from me -- and it is organizing rapidly with a big center. It looks like it'll follow Bill and Danny's path, which means its headed my way and then yours. We don't have a strong inland system at the moment, so it may actually smack the north east after the jetstream gets it. I have no idea why the media isn't talking about it, usually they're blathering at the first puff or two of clouds off the coast of africa. Jimena is too entertaining to make news worth reporting.

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 22:38 Thu 03 Sep 2009

Hi Tom, the front line is late but back!

The weather is now colling off. The nights are quite cold, with temperatures of 15Âº-16Âº C and the highest during the day are now at the early 30s. This morning it rained, but only for few minutes. We have started harvesting yesterday in Douro Superior and in the very hot Quinta da Alegria, in the border between the Cima Corgo and Douro Superior. The grapes are sweet, with potential alcohol relatively high but surprisingly for me, with good acidity. The ripening is not really balanced, as the skin is soft but the pulp is not easy to separate from the pip. Moreover, there are some lack of nutrients in the grapes due to the very hot temperatures during August.

There are some other producers already harvesting. The white grapes will be harvested specially early to get the remaining freshness that they still have.

Not clue about how the wines will show. Maybe you can come over to help us figuring it out.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 05:59 Fri 04 Sep 2009

Maybe you can come over to help us figuring it out

I should be able to give you a very good idea in about twenty years time..

Are these port grapes you are harvesting now?

- are you foot treading them?

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 15:32 Fri 04 Sep 2009

uncle tom wrote:Are these port grapes you are harvesting now?

- are you foot treading them?

Tom

We have only started with grapes for Port. The grapes for Douro wines will be harvest in around 10 days.

Regarding the question about foot treading, nowadays we don't use it. We think we can make good Ports without turning to the traditional lagares. There is no definitive answer for this and we can be wrong in our approach, but we think the higher extraction we have treading the grapes in the lagar, does not offset the oxidation resulting from treading it in an open space.

Zelandakh · Post by **Zelandakh** » 11:22 Sat 05 Sep 2009

Lagar or not, let's hope you get a good harvest and some good products bottled.

Douro wine? Are you allowed to say that on this site?

KillerB · Post by **KillerB** » 14:07 Sat 05 Sep 2009

Zelandakh wrote:Douro wine? Are you allowed to say that on this site?

Oh yes - some of us are very fond of Douro wines. Quinta do Crasto makes some spectacular wines and the ones from Quinta do Passadouro are heavyweights with a great future. Not had the opportunity to try Oscar's yet, but looking forward to when I do.

JacobH · Post by **JacobH** » 15:13 Sat 05 Sep 2009

Just in case anyone else missed it, Oscar has put up one of the first pictures of the 2009 vintage on his blog. I often think it’s a shame how scarce pictures like that are so any more would be welcome!

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 23:55 Sun 06 Sep 2009

Erika eventually formed as expected, but struggled to maintain composure, breaking up as it hit the islands of the Caribbean.

Some other systems have begun to form and then dispersed, including one that moved north west of Cape Verde before bieng de-classified as a cyclone risk a day or so ago. However, it still represents a big splash of wet weather over the atlantic that is likely to take a short arc toward southern europe; and presents a significant risk to Iberia..

From reports elsewhere, it seems that Oscar is not the only producer to be taken by surprise by the sudden readiness of the grapes for harvest.

The hot dry conditions appear to be mitigating against quantity, which is an understandable concern of the farmers; however such conditions have a good track record with regard to quality.

I'm hoping that this will prove to be a good 'blackstrap' year - but we'll have to wait and see..

Tom

Post by **Alex Bridgeman** » 08:31 Mon 07 Sep 2009

uncle tom wrote:From reports elsewhere, it seems that Oscar is not the only producer to be taken by surprise by the sudden readiness of the grapes for harvest.

To save me hunting around the web, are you able to post links to the other reports you've read?

Thanks.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 10:39 Mon 07 Sep 2009

To save me hunting around the web, are you able to post links to the other reports you've read?

See Roy's message from Q. Tedo, posted 6/9/09 : 2.09pm

http://www.fortheloveofport.com/forum.html

Tom

oscar quevedo · Post by **oscar quevedo** » 10:42 Mon 07 Sep 2009

This harvest has been really interesting. During the last two weeks, the grapes that are still on the vines have been ripening very very slow. We had planed to start harvesting in Quinta Vale d'Agodinho, Ferradosa, today but after the last test made yesterday, we postponed it for the next Monday.

On the other hand, the hot weather during August seems to have unbalanced the nutritional content of the berries. This can lead to fermenting stoppage due to the lack of nutrients to feed the yeasts. Our very first cuba, which started fermenting last Thursday seems to be stopped at a very high density. So a lot of sugar remains on the must to be fermented as the yeasts can't handle it. Strange but challenging!

Regarding rain, a short splash would be helpful if it comes in the next couple of days. But several hours of rain would be harmful.

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 20:11 Tue 08 Sep 2009

The area of wet weather over the Atlantic that I previously noted is now heading into the Azores.

A lot of Atlantic weather systems heading for Iberia have swung north this summer, causing the drought; but there is little evidence of a high pressure system forming to deflect this next system, so there could be some rain next week.

We also have tropical storm 'Fred' to consider. Already named. despite being still closer to Africa than America, it is forecast to swing sharply north, although it is still quite slow moving. Potentially a major threat, but probably a couple of weeks away yet.

Tom

uncle tom · Post by **uncle tom** » 20:15 Mon 14 Sep 2009

Fred has fallen apart, and the various weather systems have been going every which way except to Iberia - I wouldn't bet too heavily on the Bordeaux vintage this year, although it's hard to tell just how much rain has fallen.

Some home-grown weather systems, moving up from the Med, are forecast now, and will probably generate some rain in the Douro as the week progresses; hopefully this will be modest and beneficial rather than a soaking.

The potential for solid lasting VP's looks good; but how are the musts showing? Are they producing a good aroma?

Tom