We are approaching the crucial period of the harvest. Here at the winery, all is going well, and after a good summer, the grapes are really coming into their own. Although it’s too early to reach any solid conclusions, the vintage seems rather similar to those of previous years in which there were rainy spring seasons and warm summers, without excessive heat. We have not had to irrigate any of the vineyards, with the exception of a few recently planted plots, and the initial results appear very positive, but as the saying goes, you shouldn’t count your chickens before they hatch.

We are making the final adjustments to our vineyards, and given that the sun is no longer beating down as intensely as it has been, we are starting to remove the leaves. Naturally, only the leaves on the side of the vineyard that is exposed to the morning sun are removed, whereas the leaves on the south/south-western-facing side are left in place to protect the grapes from the heat of the afternoon sunshine.

This operation is very important in terms of the health of the grapes – it is essential that the morning dew dries out rapidly, thereby avoiding any worries about humidity, since dampness provides the ideal conditions for the development of diseases.

By this stage, there’s nothing left to do but cross our fingers and hope for a good September, with marked temperature shifts between night and day. Indeed, it is thanks to these temperature shifts that San Leonardo’s wines come to be imbued with such elegance. God willing, we will be able to harvest the Merlot grapes towards the end of the month, and then we should have until mid/late October to harvest the Sauvignon grapes, just like we used to do…oh well, we’ll keep you updated on how things progress.

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