In spite of the earthquake that last February 27th shaked the center and south of Chile, the harvest season began as it was planned. With parties in emblematic areas of the “wine route” such as Peralillo, Santa Cruz, Buin and Curicó, the farmers kicked off the 2010 season which, according to estimates by the Association of Wines of Chile, would reach around 800 million liters.
In Cono Sur Winery, the harvesting process has been developed normally, and the winemaker in charge, Matías Ríos, already has his first conclusions:
“In general, the harvest is delayed from10 to 21 days in most Chilean valleys, since it has been a colder year in all seasons. This delayed the sprouting of the vines, producing a decrease in yields of between 10% and 35% in general, depending on the varieties and valleys.The good news is that, by having lower yields, we have more concentrated grapes and the cold year gave us very good acidity of the fruits, what makes us think in harvest 2010 as a great vintage in terms of quality, in all our varieties.”
