With the arrival of autumn, we conclude the 2022 harvest, one of the most challenging we have ever experienced.

THE HARVEST, THE LONG-AWAITED MOMENT

The harvest is a time of reaping and celebration. A millennia-old tradition that represents one of the most important moments for wineries. Its arrival marks the end of a long year of work cultivating the vines. It is a time to gather the first results of all the efforts carefully carried out over the past year in the vineyards, and the beginning of a new and magical stage in the winemaking process in the cellar.

The harvest is always a time of frenetic activity, even long before it starts, when, as vintners and winemakers, we make crucial decisions that will shape the characteristics of the wines to be crafted from the harvested grapes.

Choosing the start date of the harvest is essential and will determine the quality of the wines. Although in Spain the harvest typically takes place between July and October, the final date depends on the ripeness of the grapes, which is determined by their sugar and acid content. This, in turn, depends on a wide range of factors:

– Location of the vineyards: latitude and altitude of the area, vineyard orientation, shelter provided by mountain ranges, proximity to the sea, and so on, all influence the ripeness of the grapes.

– Climatic conditions: Generally, in colder regions, grapes take longer to ripen than in warmer areas. Depending on the year’s weather conditions, the degree of grape ripeness will vary.

– Type of grape: Each grape variety has its own ripening timeline.

– Type of wine to be produced: It is crucial to have a clear idea of the desired characteristics of the wine, taking into account the varying levels of components such as acids, sugars, and aromatic compounds, which will impart unique qualities to the wine.

– Geological characteristics of the soil: Soil properties influence the water and nutrient availability for the plants. Proper treatment and management of the soil are also very important.

– Viticulture techniques: The expertise of farmers and vineyard managers is key. Their knowledge of what the plants need at each stage helps guide the vines through their life cycle, as we must remember we are working with living organisms.

Considering these factors, it is important to note that the harvest does not mark the end of the vine’s vegetative cycle. Right after the harvest, the plant enters its rest period, shedding its leaves and preparing for a new cycle that will bear fruit in the coming year. This is no trivial matter, as it is a crucial phase in vineyard management.

THE VINEYARDS OF BODEGAS ENRIQUE MENDOZA

Bodegas Enrique Mendoza is located in Alfaz del Pi, in the province of Alicante, although most of our vineyards are in Villena. This municipality experiences a climate of stark contrasts, with cold winters and very hot summers. However, it is in the westernmost point of the province where the Mediterranean breezes reach before encountering the Sierra de la Oliva, softening the climatic conditions and giving the grapes their optimal qualities. The sea breezes provide a degree of humidity, imparting a special freshness to the grapes, which is also reflected in the wines.

Our vineyards are adapted to the extremity of climatic conditions, which have become even more pronounced in recent years. The drought we have experienced over the past few years has caused intense water stress in the plants, emphasizing the critical importance of understanding soils as a primary water management tool.

At Bodegas Enrique Mendoza, as our father taught us, we have mastered soil management in such a way that in a challenging harvest like this year’s—brought forward across Spain due to the plants’ water deficit—our vineyards have responded extraordinarily well, allowing us to harvest even later than in previous years, in contrast to the rest of the country.

Our plants have shown great resilience (a term widely used these days), reacting and standing strong against unprecedented water stress. Their secret? Perfect adaptation to extreme conditions, which has enabled their roots to penetrate deeper than a meter into moist zones, allowing them to continue the photosynthesis process to ripen the grapes despite the lack of water. This water scarcity has led to a loss of vegetative mass, which has also reduced the plant’s vitality and photosynthetic capacity.

Therefore, this harvest has been a significant learning experience, beyond the number of manually harvested grape kilos, which have already been received in the winery to begin the production process from which our finest wines will emerge.

Faced with a challenging drought, at Bodegas Enrique Mendoza, we have chosen to see it as a moment of opportunity. We have analyzed the situation, putting all our efforts into adapting to the specific characteristics of this vintage, and have drawn very valuable conclusions. Discovering that some of our plants have responded better than expected, in ways we had not observed before, opens up a new and promising path for us. It inspires hope and motivates us to continue improving our viticulture year after year, which, after all, is the foundation of everything.

At Bodegas Enrique Mendoza, we want to celebrate the harvest with all of you. If you’d like to discover all the secrets of this fascinating process, we encourage you to book one of our wine tourism experiences.

We can’t wait to welcome you and toast together to this new vintage! While we must wait to enjoy the wines from 2022, let’s uncork some bottles from previous years. In those years, too, the work was intense and rewarding.