Harvest 2024 at two speeds, as highlighted by the different “go” data along the Peninsula. The different climate trend in the regions of Southern Italy where the clouds were eager for rain and the winemakers are in many cases already engaged in an early grape harvest after long months of sun and heat. Here is the update with an initial assessment from Sicily, Puglia and Basilicata.
The 2024 grape harvest in Sicily seen from Etna
From Etna, comes the testimony of Vincenzo Lo Mauro, director of Passopisciaro, one of the pioneer estates in the area with vineyards that reach an altitude of 1000 meters.
“The year so far has been very hot and dry, forcing us to irrigate some of our vineyards at night: Chardonnay in particular. We are recording an early veraison of about 10 to 14 days. Despite temperatures that have reached 40 ° C, our plants are in excellent vegetative state and with excellent fruit. They are mostly old vines that resist drought well, restored in these last three days by a few millimeters of miraculous rain. We expect the Chardonnay grape harvest to begin in the last ten days of August and then we will wait until October for the Nerello Mascalese”.
Grape harvest in Puglia
In Puglia, Tenuta Liliana is located in Salento, in Parabita, and Antonio and Liliana Intiglietta testify, with their voices, to the climate trend of one of the southernmost areas of the Peninsula. They talk about a mild and not very rainy winter, followed by a spring with higher than average temperatures; July recorded high temperatures. Currently the vineyards, 13 hectares at about 200 meters above sea level, are in the veraison phase.
“Emergency irrigation has been used repeatedly this season to ensure vegetative development without excessive stress,” explain the two owners. “The harvest will probably take place after September 15; we expect average quantities and excellent quality.”
The 2024 harvest of Leone De Castris, a historic symbol of Apulian wine, is already underway.
“We estimate low yields per hectare thanks to the pruning interventions carried out throughout the vine cycle, both in dry pruning and green pruning”, explains a note from the company. “In a 2024 harvest that starts two weeks earlier than 2023, we aim to mitigate the alcohol content and sugar concentration. Although the quantitative yield will be lower compared to the previous year, the grapes will be qualitatively healthy and impeccable, coming from vineyards in an excellent phytosanitary state”.
From Leone De Castris we then continue by highlighting how “2024 was characterized by high temperatures, far above the seasonal average, and low rainfall that caused severe water stress on the plants, which did not suffer any arrests in ripening. The mild winter and a warm spring led to early budding in April, the heat and low humidity blocked the proliferation of diseases and attacks by pathogens such as Peronospora at birth, ensuring high-quality production. A start to the harvest in record time, in which climate change plays a fundamental role”.
Now we are already looking ahead while waiting to understand what the wines of the vintage will be like. “The dry heat recorded at the beginning of the season helped to give the grapes the maximum varietal expressiveness, which will be reflected in the production of wines with a strong aromatic complexity”, concludes the note by Leone De Castris on the 2024 harvest. “The water stress of the plants will lead to a shorter harvest in which the cultivars will reach full ripeness at the same time. All this will require greater commitment on the part of the management of the grape harvest and the subsequent processing, a challenge that will require determination, care and precision on the part of the operators. The harvest starts with the first bunches of Chardonnay grapes that have reached the right degree of ripeness, a balance between acidity and alcohol content. We will proceed with the vines intended for the production of the sparkling base, to then move on to the red grapes for the vinification of rosé and red and will conclude as every year in the Noci area with the late harvest of Gioia del Colle Primitivo”.
Record-breaking 2024 harvest in Basilicata: never before has the Vulture started so early
The 2024 grape harvest began on August 10th at Cantina di Venosa (Potenza). The grape harvest has already been a record: never before had it started so early; last year the start was given on August 25th. The first cuts were made to the Moscato variety. The advance of the 2024 vintage is due to a combination of climatic factors that brought forward the budding by about ten days (the mild winter, the warm spring, the absence of snow and precipitation) and finally to the hot and dry summer of these weeks.
The early harvest is a trend that has been noticeable for years now, but never before at Cantina di Venosa had the grapes been harvested before mid-August. As for the red grapes, Aglianico, the 2024 harvest operations will begin at the end of September and will continue for the first ten days of October: consider that in 1980 they began in November.
“The positive aspect, however, is that the grapes are currently of exceptional quality because the lack of rain has avoided diseases and the consequent interventions in the vineyard”, says the oenologist of Cantina di Venosa, Donato Gentile. “Last year, on the contrary, there was the problem of Peronospora”.
“Our members are already at work and we support them promptly with the information and data available thanks to our monitoring and detection systems”, continues Francesco Perillo, the president of Cantina di Venosa. “An eye on the weather is a must, the harvest is long, at the end of September we will start with the final harvest of the Aglianico, our jewel, the variety from which we obtain the Aglianico del Vulture, the most prized and well-known wine of Basilicata”.
