2021 really kept us on our toes, from all points of view. It is impossible to talk about the grape harvest without taking into consideration what happened, between the pandemic dragging on and the sudden climate changes that are increasingly affecting our country and beyond.
Balance and confidence. These are the words that have accompanied us throughout the year: the search for stability and the honest reliability only nature can provide.
If climatic and social changes influenced – and not little – the harvest of 2021, it is also true that Vinchio Vaglio didn’t idle.
Production techniques, technological innovation, timing and most of all the great love of all members: these are the ingredients of our harvest.
The “thousand” seasons of the grape harvest
Vinchio Vaglio’s grape harvest is a scheduled appointment on an uncertain date which keeps us, contrary to popular belief, very busy throughout the whole year. That’s why the grape harvest, for us, doesn’t mean just the moment of the harvest itself, but also the delicate climatic adjustments that occur day after day, as well as our commitment to the environmental sustainability of our choices.
That’s why the typical four seasons are not enough to tell the story of the harvest of 2021. Shall we take a step back? We’ll tell you all about our year, between twists and turns and newfound balance.
If January and February were cold months with little rain and very dry soil, March was actually very hot, so much so that the vines, especially those over the hills, sprouted early. It’s hard to explain the joy we feel every year when we see the first buds, yet in terms of mood, it was in stark contrast with a dramatic national lockdown.
Maybe it was too soon to rejoice with renewed hope, because in the days of April 7th and 8th massive frosts affected almost the entire territory of Piedmont. In particular, the hills were hit by cold air streams that reached the tops of the vines, fortunately without compromising the buds.
The following months saw heavy rains, which allowed the vines to recover and compensate some damages of the frost. Rain, abundant and frequent, provided the soil with abundance of water, thus boosting vegetation significantly.
We then got to summer: a renewed hope in the containment of the pandemic was accompanied by a hot and dry summer, which brought everything back to normal, thus recovering the delay of the beginning of flowering at the end of June.
And so, August arrived – we are almost at the end of the journey – when the scarcity of rainfall made the sunniest vineyards suffer a little.
In nature, ups and downs alternate quickly. Balance and confidence.
The result of Vinchio Vaglio’s grape harvest of 2021
If the rapid sprouting of the vines hinted at an early harvest, the late flowering heavily delayed its presumed date. The warm days of September accelerated the ripening of the grapes, while the relatively low night temperatures helped maintaining the intense and elegant aromas within the grapes.
Understanding the exact time to bring grapes to the winery is a matter of experience and timeliness. Winemakers know it and so do enologists. A bunch that is not ready, looking just as the day before, can reach perfect ripeness even within 24 hours.
That’s why it is fundamental to take obsessive care of the agronomic management coordinated by technicians and winemakers who, between tastings and scientific tests, come to define exactly the best time for the harvest every year.
Vinchio Vaglio follows a particular belief: the cellar stage is only the final step of wine production, which cannot overlook the excellence of the grapes and the potential of this territory.
The grape harvest is a real celebration for Vinchio Vaglio, nowadays just as in the past, bringing everyone together: producers, winemakers, families and fans holding their breath and waiting for the joy of seeing these excellent grapes arrive in the cellar.
Vinchio Vaglio’s year of 2021: let’s review
A year that didn’t see a very generous harvest in terms of quantity, yet one that is close to qualitative excellence.
The wines obtained from southern exposures present great longevity and structure, while the products reaped in cooler areas are exactly the opposite: fresh and very fruity.
Overall, the year could be deemed as excellent. In light of the wines that were obtained, Vinchio Vaglio is full of pride and hope for the year of 2022 that has just begun. See you next year!
What does the President think of the year 2021?
“Over the past years, the final result has depended increasingly more on the ability of the winemaker to lead the vineyard according to exposure and age, also coping with the recent climate changes, so that territory and vine deliver the maximum of their potential. Our winemakers, with ages ranging from 20 to 80, have been combining timeliness and experience, enthusiasm and wisdom to achieve excellent results from the vintage of 2021, a year we certainly won’t forget and that will be remembered for the quality of our wines.”