Pioneers in organic farming in Franciacorta
Barone Pizzini GM Silvano Brescianini sent in this photo today while out driving around the vineyards on the estate.
It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it, right?
Here’s a weather updated grabbed at 2 p.m. local time (Provaglio d’Iseo):
A note from Barone Pizzini vineyard manager Pierluigi Donna:
The evolution of the analytic overview is evolving very rapidly.
Nature is making up for time lost during the cold and rain in the spring.
We’ll be able to begin picking just after August 15. In other vintages, the grapes were already in the cellar by then.
Our technicians are sampling berries in order to establish the ideal order for the harvest based on the different types of Franciacorta wine.
Above: Pinot Nero grapes in Barone Pizzini’s Polzina vineyard. Photo taken today, August 7, 2013. See the wider shot of the vineyard, also taken today, below.
From the Franciacorta Consortium bulletin this week: “Véraison is still not complete. Ripening is still just beginning and the sugar levels are still low while the acidity is high. The progression of ripening will be determined by [climatic] conditions over the next few days.”
In the image above, you can see how the Verdicchio berries are completing their growth.
In a few weeks, the warm summer weather will prompt veraison (the onset of ripening) in a few weeks.
Some bunches show signs of millerandage, in other words, variation in berry size. This is due to a cold and rainy spring.
Because of the high pressure front and anticyclone expected this week, we won’t remove the leaves around the bunches.
The leaves will help to protect the fruit from the sun and they will retain their aromas during veraison.
—Alessandro Fenino
grape grower and winemaker
Pievalta
Last week’s on the ground in Franciacorta is a good sign for the 2013 vintage: it means that the soil will have an extra reserve of water for the warm summer months when water could be scarce. It’s also a good start to a “balanced” vegetative cycle, with “four seasons” as the older folks like to say. Here are some beautiful photos taken by Barone Pizzini manager Marta, who kindly shared them with us.
The staff at the Barone Pizzini winery arrived this morning to find a “veil” of snow covering the Franciacorta amphitheater.
We’ll be reporting on weather and the progression of the 2013 harvest here on the blog for both Barone Pizzini (Franciacorta) and Pievalta (Castelli di Jesi).
Stay tuned!
