Climate change directly affects temperatures, and one of the most affected sectors is agriculture. An example of this is what will happen this year with the harvest, which will make significant progress as a result of successive heatwaves. The ripening of grapes is significantly accelerated, to the point where collection duties in the province are scheduled to begin next week, when it is usual for these works to begin at the end of the month. But things don’t end there, because the warm environment about 10% reduction in harvesthas also contributed to doubts about quality. With all these conditioning factors, the production of 45 wineries in the Alicante Denomination of Origin is expected to be close to 1 million. 140,000 hectoliters.
Weather conditions this year are far from ideal for the vineyards. Precipitation was erratic, more generous in l’Alcoià, El Comtat and Las Marinas than in Vinalopó, but in any case this was a long time ago and the ensuing drought did not contribute to strengthening the crops. In addition, there was a scorching summer, successive heat waves they did nothing but stress the grapes. This was stated by Eladio Martín Aniorte, director of DO Vinos de Alicante, who found the panorama somewhat confusing. “All of these factors explain what it means – that the grapes are less oily, and therefore there will be a 5% to 10% reduction in harvest depending on the region. What is clear is that, production will be under 30 million kiloswhich is more or less our usual scale”.
On the other hand, high temperatures also raise doubts about the quality of the grapes. In her words, “we encounter tropical nights, so not enough contrast for the day. This means that the maturation is not sufficient and also some physicochemical parameters that affect quality can be changed.”
Another setback is the early harvest, again as a result of the strong heat. “In recent years we’ve realized that we have to wait less and less, but this campaign will be a bit of an exception, as the first harvest will start next week with the Malvasia and Moscatell varieties, when it’s normal at the end of the month,” he claims.
Miguel Ángel Díaz of Bodegas Pinoso also refers to the complex conditions vineyards face. “Spring was good in terms of rains – highlights – but then came the heat and drought, less water for irrigation. This is a bit of a concern for us, because the grapes may be ripening from the outside, but the seed doesn’t do the same, which is extremely important.”
José Juan Reus, president of DO Alicante and Bodegas Xaló, the need for proper ripening of grapes. “In our area – he says – production will be more or less normal, but if it had rained a few weeks ago, we would have found ourselves dealing with extraordinary production.”
Industry fears sharp drop in consumption after summer
The wineries of the Alicante Denomination of Origin are having a good summer, driven above all by their main market, national consumption. However, the situation threatens to change towards the end of the year.
According to Eladio Martín Aniorte, director of DO, “the truth is that we started the summer with very good prospects thanks to the pull of the tourism and hospitality industry. However, we have many doubts about what could happen as we approach the end of the year because the outlook is so complex.
There are different elements that contribute to this concern and are common to most productive sectors. Strong inflation is one of the most important because consumers are seeing their purchasing power decrease significantly. Then comes the international uncertainty created by the war in Ukraine and the recession already existing in the United States, which threatens to sooner or later spread to the European Union.
According to Miguel Ángel Díaz, Bodegas Pinoso, a major wine exporter and commercial director to the North American market, “The recession in the US is already starting to be felt because sales are no longer as fluid as they used to be at the moment”.
Alicante wineries sell about 25% of their production abroad, while the rest remains in Spain.
Source: Informacion
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