Spain: The earliest grape harvest ends in Marco de Jerez, with a slight increase in production

That of 2021 was the earliest vintage that is remembered in the Marco de Jerez. On August 2, grapes began to be cut in the interior estates, in which the grapes reached the optimum level of maturity earlier and at the beginning of September all the presses were already closed, with the sole exception of those dedicated to the production of sweet wines, in which the grape is subjected to "sunning". As usual, practically half of the surface has been harvested by hand and the other half by harvesters, generally at night, to take advantage of the best temperature conditions. It was a short harvest as a result of the scarce rains, a situation that has been going on for the last three years. The average in the agricultural year has barely reached 450 liters per square meter, when the normal in the area is about 600 liters. In total, the harvest has amounted to 57.5 million kilos, which represents a slight increase (7%) in relation to the previous season. The rains were concentrated in ...