THE 2019 HARVEST IN MARSALA

How did the 2019 harvest go in Marsala? This year, here in the Marsala area too, we had a cold and rainy spring, which scared us a bit. May was very cold, so that the fruit set (the phase of the bunch in which the fruit develops from the flower) was a bit blocked, making the bunches more sparse.

Well, in May the temperatures here are usually between 20 and 25 degrees, while this year they were around 15 degrees! This meant a lower production (about 30% less than last year), but of higher quality . So all in all we are very satisfied.

The 2019 harvest in Marsala was, in qualitative terms, one of the best since we started making wine (in 2011). In May, in addition to low temperatures, there were also more or less intense rains. The sirocco, a hot and humid wind, was rare, while the mistral often kept us company, helping to dry the grapes: a dry, ventilated heat, very positive for the vineyard.

This also allowed us to reduce the treatments in the vineyard with copper and sulfur: we only did two! We also had temperature variations between day and night, which contributed to a more uniform ripening of the grapes.

WHEN DID THE 2019 HARVEST BEGIN?

We started harvesting on August 18th, picking the grapes for Foddre , our sparkling wine made with the ancestral method from Catarratto grapes. Picking grapes that are not yet fully ripe allows for good acidity and a low PH.

After that it was the turn of Merlot, Grillo, Catarratto and finally Nero d'Avola. We finished most of the harvest on September 20th. But it's not over yet! We are waiting for the late harvest of Catarratto for our Elisir , which was not produced last year. We expect to harvest the grapes around mid-October.

About 15 days ago, the day after the Catarratto harvest for the Guanciabianca, we left 4 rows untouched. The next day we performed the circumcision of the fruiting head , which serves to block the lymphatic flow of the vine and thus create the over-ripening of the grapes and therefore an accumulation of sugar in the grapes.

LABOUR AND JOY OF THE HARVEST

The weeks of the grape harvest, as we know, are tiring and demanding. Yet there is never a lack of convivial moments! During the grape harvest we are a small group of about 8 people, many of whom have been helping us for years now.

According to tradition, between 11 and 12 we all gather under a fig or olive tree, because we feel hungry and we rest a bit. We often eat Mamma Rosa's baked pasta and "cunzato" bread, that is, seasoned with tomatoes, anchovies, oil, pecorino, salt and pepper. All washed down, of course, with a few glasses of wine!

What harvest is without the end-of-harvest party ? On September 28th we all got together: the family, those who helped us in the vineyard and many friends. We celebrated this year's harvest together, which gave us a lot of satisfaction and we also tasted the new wines.

Every year for the grape harvest festival, two typical desserts are prepared for us: grape must (cooked must with the addition of flour and almonds), and an exquisite granita made with Grillo or Catarratto must. Delicious!

THE HARVEST OF NERO D'AVOLA

If every year Nero d'Avola ripens before Catarratto, this year it was not like that. There was almost a month's delay , because the phenolic ripening was behind, that is, the grape seed (the seed in the grape) was always too green.

In Sicily, Nero d'Avola needs a lot of heat and sirocco to ripen well, a sultry heat. This year the sirocco was scarce, while the mistral allows a good temperature range, but does not bring the humid heat of the sirocco that this vine needs. So if quantitatively the harvest of the other grapes was lower, for Nero d'Avola it was more or less the same as last year.

And in the cellar ? At the moment our wines are in steel, where the fermentations take place. The first fermentation is almost complete; we are waiting for the second, the malolactic one, on the fine lees. The last to be drawn off was the Nero d'Avola del Guancianera.

We just have to wait for the next few months for the wines to become that delicious and fascinating nectar that accompanies us every day at the table.