Vintage Reports

Interesting about Campania is that temperatures were quite low over winter, even lower than average. Snowcapped mountains also helped replenish water reserves and spring was mild, seeing very little rain. The April frost did lower temperature and some early-ripening varieties were affected, but quite sporadically in the region. After the frost, things went back to normal and the growth cycle continued normally until summer, which was one of the hottest it has been in 15 years with record-breaking highs throughout the season. Harvest began early and quality is expected to be quite good and even quantity will be 5% higher than last year.

This eastern Italian region will forever remember 2017 for record-breaking temperatures and out-of-the-ordinary weather events. The winter snowstorm the area experienced was the biggest seen in the last hundred years. It was followed by the freeze experienced in all of Italy and one of the driest summers on record. Oddly, the winter snowstorm actually saved later-ripening varieties from the frost as the growth cycle was delayed about two weeks. The summer was long and hot with a few hailstorms. Production is down about 30% over last year. Il Feuduccio’s enologist Romano D’Amario explains what this means for them: “In regards to white grapes, there was very little rain during June, July and August and this guaranteed the health of the grapes while irrigation was needed for the more sensitive varieties. The must appears more harmonious than last year and the wine should be more complex on the nose and “full” on the palate. For red grapes, this harvest will be remembered for its low yield due to the persistent high daytime temperatures and the substantial drought in September and early October. On the flip side, there were drastic drops in overnight temperatures. These weather patterns left us with a must with high sugar and low acidity, assuring wines with high alcohol and phenols. These wines will be very suitable to aging, even for long periods.”

Winter was very cold and rainy, even snowy at times, but spring was mostly mild. The April frost caused massive damage and production is down 40%, even up to 80% in places where the buds were already well developed. Summer was long and dry with very few day/night temperature swings, giving grapes little time to recuperate. Still, quality looks good for Umbria. Peter of Heilbron of Tenuta Bellafonte gives us his take. “This vintage was dry, also because of the spring freeze that especially affected the lower vineyards. Ours are hilly with good elevation, so they were not distressed by the cold, and during the hot, dry summer they benefited from relatively cool nights. The fact that the soil was well worked and that we don’t use herbicides allows the roots to seek humidity down deep, making sure they suffered less the lack of rain. The result is an earlier harvest with extremely healthy grapes but lower production than last year. They are more concentrated yielding less wine. Even though production is limited, we are sure we will have excellent quality wines.”