Great year for whites, with an excellent balance of sugar content, pH and acidity. Red grape harvest will begin on 10th September under the best circumstances

Feast of the Assumption in vineyards for Tenute Rubino in Salento, in the countryside of Brindisi, on the Adriatic Sea. On 16th August, in the early morning, the harvest of Chardonnay variety was initiated at Marmorelle Vineyard, some days delayed this year compared to last year. Although the trend of extended grape ripening times affects almost all the vineyards of the family’s four estates, it shows to have a more evident effect on red grapes. Grapes are intact, with well formed bunches of flourishing berries that have slowly been reaching a more defined and stronger colour, especially in red grapes. The harvest started off with the Chardonnay and Vermentino varieties destined to serve as the base for sparkling wine  and it will go on with Malvasia Bianca and Vermentino – perfectly ripe – for still wines.

The good spring rainfalls and heat trends, along with the excellent night-day temperature ranges in the company’s vineyards, have gradually marked the grape polyphenolic nature and let plants enhance their sugar enrichment and achieve a good acidity up to the harvest. The result has been a great balance of sugar content, pH and acidity that is forecast to lead to an excellent vintage, characterised by perfumed wines with good acidity and longevity.

The red grape harvest will be delayed by circa 15 days, being carried out by 10th September. This shift affected not only Tenute Rubino’s vineyards, but the whole territory of Puglia. This is due to a cooler climate, free from heat peaks, and characterised by copious water reserves that have eventually led to a postponement – estimable at circa 10 days compared to multi-year average – in the vegetative recovery and plant budding. The slow trend in the vegeto-productive cycle resulted into a delay in blossoming and in grape formation, which have consequently reverberated into deferred picking times.This prolonged ripening is particularly interesting for producers of high-quality wines. “A slow and harmoniously regular ripening – explains Luigi Rubino, owner of the company – is one of the key features we aim to when defining a harvest as ‘exemplar’. This year encloses all these characteristics, that at the very end – once the harvest is completed – will hopefully find a confirmation into reality”.

This grape ripening shows a long trend that – in some vineyards of the company – reaches up to two weeks. Unlike the previous years, ripening has been constant and free from water stresses. During the blossoming time (July), temperatures in the Brindisi’s countryside slightly lowered, favouring a fruit set characterised by well-formed and compact grapes and suitable leaf equipment. Quality is good, thanks to a hot and dry seasonal trend, and quantity is slightly improving.

“Gradual ripening – continues Luigi Rubino – is the premise to an excellent year, especially for red grapes, with a production increase that, for some autochthonous varieties, reaches a little more than 10%, re-balancing the losses registered last year. Thanks to a cool summer and a good wind that will hopefully continue through September, we will also get some refined and very perfumed rosés. This is a harvest which is expected to be quite: barring disruptive weather conditions and night-day temperature range no more favourable to the ripening of all phenolic substances, we will really have a great vintage – Rubino concludes”.