2023-08-18 16:12:00
With timid steps, the harvest starts late throughout the country, while production is expected to be significantly reduced by up to 50% in many areas. Heat and humidity due to the June rains brought Downy mildew at vines in mainland Greece but also in the islands, even in areas where it had never appeared before. In the meantime, the harvest has been delayed by one to two weeks in most parts of the country, as grape growers and winemakers wait for the grapes delayed by the erratic weather to ripen.
“Doesn’t the proverb say ‘the downy mildew ate it’?” This is exactly what happened this year”, says Mr. Andreas Gikas, winemaker and president of the Attica Wine Producers Association (ENOAA). “However, there are also vines that will give a good harvest”, he notes, “especially if the interventions in the vine were made at the right time”. In order to protect their vines from the consequences of climate change in Attica in recent years, the winegrowers in Attica have been creating a microclimate by avoiding defoliating them. Thus the bunches are protected from the hot sun until a few days before the harvest.
New techniques
Yesterday, Mr. Gikas started picking the rosé, Grenache and Augustiatis. This year for the first time he decided not to upload a photo of his vine before the harvest to avoid last minute bad luck. “For three years now I have been uploading a photo and the next day it hails, I upload a photo and in a few days the heat wave comes. This year alone I’m holding my breath,” he says anxiously.
In Santorini, where traditionally the first bunch of grapes is harvested every year, the harvest started after Panagia, about 10 days later than… usual. “It was like that last year too,” says the winemaker Aris Tselepos (Canvas of Gold), “the conditions have changed a lot”. The production on the island of Assyrtikos this year is expected to be weak, close to 1/3 of last year. The island has 17 wineries that will have to share about 1,000 tons of grapes, when last year the vines yielded over 2,500 tons.
The grape was delayed due to the unstable weather conditions, while the production is expected to be significantly reduced.
Santorini is used to difficulties due to its dry-thermal climate, and this is what gives the unique flavor to Assyrtiko produced on the island. But this year the challenge is even greater. On April 23, hail fell in some areas, such as Pyrgos and Megalochori. “This spring hail destroyed production. We had no rain at all, it was also hot and in places there was downy mildew. But the hail did a lot of damage,” says Aris Tselepos.
The small quantity is expected to increase the price of the raw material. Last year the grape was sold in some cases for more than 4 euros per kilo, while this year it may exceed 5 euros, producers estimate. But if you have a little grape, after all you can’t get the damage out of the high price.
And in Crete these days the harvest begins in some areas. In some others, winegrowers are thinking about entering the vineyard, as downy mildew has affected many vines, according to Mr. Nikos Miliarakis, president of Winemakers Network “Wines of Crete”. The untimely rains of June brought moisture and the downy mildew, which eats the grapes, loves moisture very much. THE Nikos Doulofakis has a winery in Dafnes at an altitude of 350-400 meters and cultivates many native and some foreign varieties. Vilana, Vidiano, Moschato Spinas, Assyrtiko, Malvasia, Mantilari, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Liatiko, Kotsifali, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Syrah. He just started harvesting yesterday and is very happy with the quality of the grapes. When asked how he coped with downy mildew, he answers “with care”. “In 2011 the downy mildew problem was twice as big. But you can beat him, there are ways. The vine wants you to be on top. Those who had abandoned them, lost them”, he explains. However, this year many vines produced smaller sized grapes due to the lack of winter rain. “We expect a reduction in production of around 15%-20%,” says Mr. Doulofakis.
In the Ionian
Downy mildew fell on the vines of the Ionian islands as well. In Kefalonia the production of Robola in some vineyards can be reduced by 80% due to downy mildew. On the island, grape growers saw downy mildew for the first time in 2011. “After that it was not seen again, until this year. A very rare phenomenon for our island”, says Konstantinos Bazigos, director of the “Robola” cooperative.
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