Did you know that the grape harvest is only one phase in the winemaking process? It is perhaps the most recognized. This is the one that links all the year’s work in the field with the beginning of the work in the winery. For Familia Martínez Bujanda, the grape harvest is the most awaited time of the year, and we have more than 130 harvests! If you come to visit our farms, you will be able to learn first-hand about the tradition and the process, with its peculiarities in each one of them.
It is early days, but 130 years ago it was the ephemeris of saints and virgins that marked the beginning of the grape harvest. In all this time, we have learned a lot, we have studied our vineyards and our varieties. Do you know which grapes are harvested earlier? Although it may vary, the first grapes are white varieties such as muscatel and gewürztraminer. And, within the reds, we have a winelover’s tip*: the tempranillo grape owes its name to the fact that its ripening cycle is shorter, therefore, it has an earlier ripening than others, hence its name.
But the grape harvest has transcended the wineries: it has become a social event. Everyone is talking about the grape harvest and the more and the less expert ones are lucubrating about the quality of the wine extracted from those grapes, which have been cared for with so much care throughout the year with phrases like “this year’s harvest promises”. This year has been complicated by the social circumstances and meteorological phenomena that Spain has had to face. As we are telling you, wine is not made now: since the end of the previous harvest, we are already thinking about the next one, first with the work in the vineyard and, of course, in these days, when the grapes arrive at the winery for winemaking.
We are, therefore, at the peak after a year of work in each of the Fincas of Familia Martínez Bujanda, Finca Antigua started at the end of August with the white varieties; and Finca Valpiedra and Finca Montepedroso, will start in the next few days to elaborate those wines that Lauren Rosillo, our winemaker, has been designing day by day.
What factors influence the harvest?
When planting a vineyard, we must take into account a series of factors for the best development of the plant and to achieve optimum ripening of our grapes. Not all grape varieties are adapted to all soils and climates. Therefore, we must take into account: the climate, the type of soil, the hours of sun and light received, and the amount of water received, among others. Days before the harvest, we have to carry out constant controls that will measure the sugar levels, which will give the potential alcohol of the wine; the acidity and the phenolic compounds. A final test to start the winemaking process and maintain the style of wine to which we are accustomed.
We have done our homework and are prepared to do our best. Come to one of our wine tourism experiences at Finca Valpiedra, Finca Antigua or Finca Montepedroso and see for yourself.
