Its harvest time

This week the harvest got underway early in parts of the northern hemisphere with growers in Provence beginning picking on Monday 25th August, earlier than the average harvest date, thanks to favourable weather conditions in the region this year. The 2014 crop looks to be impressive in both size and quality, according to the Conseil des Vins de Provence.

Summer conditions were favourable, with cool nights and no excessive heat or dryness. Relatively abundant rain, in particular around August 15, was followed by cleansing Mistral winds, minimising the risk of mildew. The vineyards now have healthy crops that look to be impressive in both size and quality.

In Provence, 26,000 hectares of AOC classified vines will be harvested to produce more than 160 million bottles of the 2014 vintage. Last year circa 25m bottles were consumed abroad, with the majority in the US (Provence’s top export market) and 2014 figures show a double digit growth on the UK market.

Over in the USA growers in Washington State began picking Sauvignon Blanc a few days earlier than usual due to warmer than average temperatures in the region. The industry expect yields to be average with a 230,000-ton harvest this year.