…and South America
A hoT yEAR in Chile and spring frosts in Argentina are set to restrict this year’s wine harvest, with quality looking promising in both countries.
The La Niña weather pattern meant that Chile’s harvest arrived up to a month early in some regions, with high temperatures and low yields.
While most Central Valley vineyards harvested in February and March, later-ripening regions like puente Alto were redeemed by a cooler autumn.
‘initially the summer heatwaves led us to expect higher sugar levels and dehydrated berries,’ said Michel Friou, winemaker at Almaviva in Maipo, where yields were down 26%. ‘The reality was surprisingly different.’ Coastal regions were also protected from the extreme heat, with Concha y Toro winemaker Marcelo papa reporting a good performance in Limarí.
The worst-affected region was secano interior, where soaring summer temperatures were exacerbated by drought and devastating wildfires, which affected 500,000 hectares of land and claimed 11 lives.
in Argentina, quality is considered high across the board, but yields were impacted by spring frosts, particularly for Chardonnay, Cabernet sauvignon, Malbec and pinot Noir.
‘After 2014 and 2015 were hit by rain close to the harvest, and 2016 by rain in spring and early summer, we had a return to almost normal weather,’ said santiago Achaval, winemaker at Matervini. ‘The only problem was a series of near-frost events in spring, resulting in Malbec yields down between 40% and 60%.’