Harvest 2017 at Douloufakis winery

We are in the fourth week of harvest and we can already make some very positive predictions for the current year.

The winter rainfalls, which continued in May and June, retained the humidity of the soil at a satisfactory level and as a result we have vibrant vineyards and grapes. The only hard part of this year’s cultivation season was the two-day heatwave in early July, which dehydrated certain varieties, therefore causing a decline in their production. However, in July and August we had strong northerly winds, which kept the daily temperature at low levels.

The harvest began at the usual time for the region, that, is on 17 August and the weather being good allows for a smooth harvest. We started with the Chardonnay, the Sauvignon Blanc and the Muscat Blanc (Muscat of Spina). Towards the end of August we harvested the first grapes of the Vidiano variety. We continued with the Malvasia, the Liatiko and the Kotsifali varieties. At the beginning of September we collected the Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties and the late-ripening grapes of the Vidiano variety were also harvested. Following on are the Vilana and the Sangiovese varieties, while the Madilari variety will bring an end to this year’s harvest around 28 to 30 September. 

The fully fermented white wines are aromatic, have good acidity and concentration. The grapes for the red wines were harvested with good phenolic maturity, others have already fully fermented and show a lot of promise, while yet others are still fermenting.

Therefore there is more to come until the end of the month, when this year’s harvest will come to an end and we will all be able to take it down a notch!