The vendemmia – the grape picking season started early this year in one or two vineyards around Barga this weekend but the bulk of the vineyards are still biding their time and hoping for more sun to ripen off the grapes later on this week.
It has to be said that the last ten years or so we have had mixed results for the local grown wine. The grape harvest in 2007, 2009 and 2010 was good as far as quality of the grapes but low on quantity. In 2015 some growers had a bad year due to a virus and fungus which destroying a high percentage of their grapes.
There has been a good deal of trepidation amongst the wine producers in the area for the outcome of the vendemmia 2016 as the low rainfall during most of the summer months has meant that many growers a reporting much smaller grapes this year.
All is not lost yet but all eyes are on the weather forecast for the next week or so.
Now comes a game of poker to see which vineyard will let their grapes stay on the vine the longest, hoping to catch the every last rays of sun before the autumn closes in and those who instead will not risk the grapes that they have and will harvest before any sudden storm, or worse, hail could damage them.