By Andrew McCarthy, Bodegas Castro Martin, http://castromartin.blogspot.com/
We last heard from Andrew back in June when he reported that proto-grapes had started to appear on the Albarino vines. Here’s the lastest update from Galicia:
I imagine that today’s blog title might have grabbed your attention! Harvest? In July? What on earth is he talking about? Green harvest?
OK, so I confess, I don’t actually mean the harvest itself, but rather the preparations for the 2010 picking, which are under way in the bodega. The last of the 2009 wines have just been racked from their lees, and over the next four weeks we will start a programme of bottling – not only to give us sufficient stock to see us through, but also to start freeing up a few tanks in anticipation of the new vintage.
To be honest there is actually quite a bit of planning that goes into this, as there are certain tanks that we favour for use during the harvest (usually those closest to the pressing room). The trick is that after all the current movements between tanks, we end up with the right amount of space….. in the right place.
Of course we also have to take into account that, because of the extended ageing period of our “sobre lias” wines, we still have quite a high percentage of the 2009 vintage in the cellar, and so we can’t possibly manage our wine movements without a good deal of forethought. Logistically, it is not quite as easy as you might assume, especially as we go out of our way to move our wines as little as possible. Moving wine = contact with the air = potential oxidation.
And there was you thinking that I spend my summer on the beach!
The delightful Angela Martin and her husband Andrew McCarthy run the Castro Martin estate, in Rias Baixas, on Spain’s Galician coast. You can follow their blog or get all the official info on their website.
Tags: Albarino, Bloggers, Castro Martin, Harvest diary, Spain