HARVESTING SET TO START IN THE RHÔNE VALLEY A.O.P. VINEYARDS

HARVESTING SET TO START IN THE RHÔNE VALLEY A.O.P. VINEYARDS

Avignon - September 2017, The last weeks of August, and the time has come for Rhône Valley growers to kick off this year’s harvest. The decision to start picking has been made on grounds of practicality, given current levels of grape ripeness. Could this be the earliest harvest on record? Timing is not really the issue. The grapes are at their best now, and growers are seizing the opportunity to bring in some excellent fruit.

The first bunches – the white AOPs of the southern Rhône Valley - will be picked on Monday August 21st. Meanwhile in the northern vineyards, harvesting is due to start on Monday September 4th, a full two weeks earlier than in 2016. The early start date has been forecast based on a combination of spring weather conditions and this year’s relatively modest crop load.

Following the extreme heat of the last few weeks, the grapes are in excellent health.
“We had been hoping for rain in July,” admits Françoise Dijon, manager of the Vineyard Observer, “but it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, our latest findings show that the quality of the harvest is very promising, with plenty of colour and a good ratio of sugar to acidity”.

Early harvests and excellent quality

A mild, dry winter in the southern part of the vineyards and an unseasonably warm February and March led to early bud-break. The subsequent cold snap – alongside rainy weather in May – brought localised episodes of frost and hail, causing damage in places.

Temperatures rose again in mid-May, reaching well above the seasonal norm. Vines grew rapidly as flowering approached.
Then at the beginning of summer, a period of very hot, very dry weather set in, speeding up the ripening process.

In the northern vineyards, vine development began equally early, from March onwards.
On two occasions, temperatures were brought down considerably by a cold northerly wind, resulting in delayed flowering; but subsequent May rainfall drove temperatures back up, topping up water levels in the process. By the end of May, temperatures were climbing steadily, reaching heatwave proportions by June. This in turn led to violent localised storms.

Weather conditions are now set fair, heralding an excellent grape harvest. So Rhône Valley winegrowers and négociants are gearing up for the start of the harvest; and although this is the earliest harvest start date for several decades, high quality is definitely on the cards. As for quantity - although yields will not be excessive, the Rhône Valley vineyards have, yet again, emerged relatively unscathed compared to the rest of France.

• Rhône Valley wines are produced across 6 départements, making wine production the region’s leading economic activity. In 2015/2016, 388 million bottles were sold across 160 countries.
• Rhône Valley wines – facts and figures:
70,000 hectares and 5,300 winegrowing operations
3 million hectolitres harvested in 2016
1.5 billion euros in turnover generated by Rhône Valley AOC
• 50,000 jobs are provided directly or indirectly by the wine producing sector, making it the Rhône Valley’s leading employer.

INTERPROFESSION DES VINS AOC CÔTES DU RHÔNE & VALLEE DU RHÔNE
6 rue des Trois Faucons - CS 90513 - 84 024 AVIGNON Cedex 1 Tél. 33 (0)4 90 27 24 16/40 - www.vins-rhone.com

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