This time of the year is one of the most enjoyable out in the vineyards. There are flowers everywhere, the landscape is painted a brilliant shade of green. Despite the heat of the day – we already saw temperatures of 36C at the start of June here in Alpartir – the elevation means that the temperature drops considerably at night. This keeps things relatively cool, as does the refreshing breeze that blows most afternoons when the temperatures are at their highest.
But it’s not a time for resting, there is plenty to do both in the vineyards and the winery. The damp weather that we experienced at the start of May was excellent for replenishing water reserves ahead of the growing season, but it also put us on high alert for fungal diseases. We’re certified organic and biodynamic, which means we are very limited in what we can use (not that we’d want to use chemical biocides anyway). This makes prevention particularly important, and we believe that minimal spraying with copper and sulphur (the traditional treatments for oidium and mildew) now is far preferable to needing to treat later in the cycle.
With the preventative measures that we undertook and the dry, sunny weather that we’re now experiencing, the vines look in excellent health as we head into the summer.
As for flowering and fruit set, in nature, everything goes at its own pace, so this varies greatly across our parcels, depending on their altitude and the age of the vines:
“In general, across Alpartir, the berries were starting to form by the end of May, but the higher altitude parcels of old vines, such as La Cerqueta, La Tejera and of course, el Jardín de las Iguales, take a lot longer,” explains Fernando.
“One of the positive things that we’re seeing this year is that the bunches that are forming are large and quite long with gaps between berries. This is much better than having tighter bunches for two reasons: firstly, that the grapes tend to ripen more evenly, and also it reduces the risk of rot as air can circulate.”
As a biodynamic winery, Bodegas Frontonio has been applying the BP 501 Silica preparation made from quartz packed into cow horns, a treatment made to enhance the fruit that is sprayed on the leaves to improve photosynthesis and protect the grapes from sunburn:
“It may sound a bit crazy, but the results we’ve seen speak for themselves. This treatment helps the plant harness the energy of the sunshine and translate it into the finest quality fruit.”
In honour of this crucial period of the year, we named the June case from the Garage Wine Club “Floración” (flowering). We’re sold out this month but you can find out more about signing up for future editions here.