Tempranillo grapes

We have been checking the tempranillo grapes closely this last week of August as they are looking ripe
and ready and measuring the  sugar levels of the grapes using a Refractometer.

Using Refractometer to measure Brix level

Squeezing juice onto Refractometer

It has been a hot and dry summer
so the vines are looking dry
with many dead leaves.

We cut a lot of bunches off a
month ago as the plants seemed
to be struggling with an
overburden of grapes.

The grapes we left have
flourished as the plants were
able to direct more energy
to fewer bunches.

We also irrigated a bit more to avoid the dehydration of the grapes which had been occurring.

The lower vineyard showed an average of 19 Brix and the upper vineyard was higher at 21 Brix.

These readings indicated, along with tasting the grapes
and looking at the pips to see how brown they were,
that we should harvest this week.

A good count showed there to be 1854 bunches of grapes
with maybe an average weight of  a third of a kilo so maybe
600 kilos in total which could give 600 bottles.

We have set the date for our harvest or vendimia for the 4th September on the full moon,
as the water table will be high and enable the grapes to be harvested
with good moisture content.

We have asked friends to help and will be starting at 6am with a crew of 20
and aim to finish in 3 hours to avoid the heat of the sun.

With 3 cutters and 3 carriers, 6 de-stemmers, 4 crushers and provisioners
we should get the job done and have time for a harvest breakfast
to celebrate with Cava and orange juice,
BBQ’d bacon & sausages, and fresh tomato & garlic tostades!