Harvest 2022, surprising! By Luciana Biondo

Novembre 2020

How was the harvest of Tenuta Santa Caterina this year 2022?
It will not be difficult in the future to remember the climatic characteristics of the vintage that is ending. 2022 is going down in history as an anomalous year from a climatic point of view due to the combination of heat and drought that lasted for most of the year. The only vintage that can be considered similar in terms of temperature and rainfall is 2003, which however was not as extreme as the one now ending. Wanting to summarize in two parameters what has most influenced the wine year, we identify the minimum daily temperature constantly above 20°C for long periods and the scarcity of rain as the most significant ones. Regarding the latter aspect, the anomaly had already begun in December 2021 and continued throughout the summer period until the end of July. In the month of August some thunderstorms, fortunately not ruinous for the harvest, partially mitigated this anomaly.
With these premises, we were amazed to see how the vine plants were able to brilliantly deal with these anomalous conditions. From a physiological point of view, the plants had to deal with above-average temperatures and scarce water availability right from the early stages of budding, and they were able to adjust their vegetative development to these values. The growth of the shoots and the emission of leaves and females, usually explosive in the months of May and June, followed a slower trend: the plant has adapted to the heat and dry producing fewer leaves, which moreover represent a of water loss through perspiration. In a nutshell, the vine immediately understood what was happening and thought above all of "bringing the skin home" or rather of surviving.
This "vegetable saving" only partially translated into a lower production. Certainly the quantity of grapes we harvested per hectare was lower than the average of our vineyards, but the plants, also thanks to the saving of strength in the early stages of the cycle, concentrated their physiological energies to give quality bunches.
What we have witnessed, and which in the style of Tenuta Santa Caterina we have supported, is a different behavior of the individual plots compared to the average of the vintages. Thanks to the constant observation of the vineyards, we have adjusted our spacing and thinning interventions according to the vegetative state of the plants. The vineyards facing south have greatly reduced production, and the characteristics of the grapes in terms of color and balance have not always been optimal. On the contrary, plots with exposure even slightly facing east and/or west gave a more balanced product.
The harvests began well in advance of previous years, as was to be expected given the acceleration and the consequent anticipation of the individual phenological phases.
The white varieties, both Chardonnay and Sauvignon, gave us pleasant surprises in terms of aromas and gustatory balance, also thanks to the low yields.
Barbera, at the time of harvesting, revealed a beautiful gustatory roundness, showing the potential of our territory in producing Barbera wines of great balance and elegance.
Grignolino and Freisa, noble Piedmontese vines, demonstrated their suitability for the territory which in this vintage ensured optimal conditions for both to ripen their important polyphenolic heritage. Finally the Nebbiolo, which closed our harvests, while anticipating the ripening of the bunches to the first days of October, showed fruit and balance in the tank. If we had to identify a term to define the 2022 vintage, the word "surprising" could be the correct one. Shop online

Harvest 2022, surprising! By Luciana Biondo

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