The 2005 Grape Harvest

A good harvest

In 2005 the Pisan hills had a rather cold winter with frequent, average intensity rainfall and snow, continuing until March. Fortunately this cold weather did not affect the growth of vines. Early spring was quite cold but very hot towards the end, with above average daytime temperatures and considerable nocturnal ranges. This initially caused a delay in growth of the vines and difficulties with setting, followed by a sudden recovery with accelerated veraison and ripening, resulting in an earlier grape harvest than the previous year. Summer was hot but not too hot and some rain at the end of July and August prevented drought stress, which younger vineyards suffer from in particular. Work in the vineyards proceeded as usual and the grapes were quite healthy, although some areas were affected by diseases of the vine such as powdery mildew. Unlike other coastal areas, there was not much rainfall during the grape harvest, and this allowed the bunches of grapes to reach complete phenolic maturity. This was a good grape harvest for our coastal hills.