READY FOR HARVEST 2015

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READY FOR HARVEST 2015

SAMPLING OF GRAPES

All hands to control a mosaic of 6 Seals

The entrance in the middle of summer, in Sicily approaching another harvest. We can not even imagine how many summers and many vintages have followed, year after year, in these lands where the vineyard is present really for centuries. Certainly, until not long ago the atmosphere in the vineyards was not like that these days. The continuous search for quality today it feels like aliens that roam through the vineyards, with an eye on the grapes ripening, to understand the status and predict the beginning collection. Agronomists, led by Tanino Santangelo, undertook one of the most important and necessary activities to ensure the quality of the wines that will be born from these grapes. The sampling of the grapes, to sample, requires full knowledge of the habits of these production plants, row to row, are regularly monitored. Those most exposed to the sun during the hottest hours to those who enjoy a particular exposure, more open to the wind. This delicate activity takes place exclusively according to strict criteria that Firriato apply in the vineyard.

FROM THE VINEYARD TO THE CELLAR

The excitement and the waiting

The grapes to be sampled are selected according to certain criteria that are important to search the analysis of the berries. The timing of maturation primarily depend to the grape that, in the land of Sicily, expresses its cycle vegetation and production, of course, varies depending on the climatic dates from that land. We know that the same vineyard, for example, Nero d’Avola – then the same grape variety, although grown in the same portion of the estate, its maturation varies according to certain fundamental factors for the growth of plants and fruit ripening. Exposure to sunlight to soil type, microclimate, exposure to winds. These are the parameters that we use for the sampling of the grapes and, there can be significant variation even between the rows of a same portion of the vineyard. While in the vineyard alternate sampling, in the basement there is prepared the best to receive the fruits of a year’s work. For winemakers it has activated the state of high alert. It ‘began a comprehensive review of all the machines that have remained dormant since last harvest. New air for Firriato’ destemmers and soft crimping. Everything has to be clean and in order to ensure perfect quality.

I SEE OR I PREDICT?

Hot days of late July and grapes which ripen more quickly

The gradual rise in temperatures that characterized the end of July, has produced a certain acceleration of maturation processes of all varieties planted in the estate of Firriato in the Trapani area. At the current day we can establish that the production of this year will certainly be positive and up slightly from last year, so that it is partly due to regular load per plant, especially for those varieties more productive, as Grillo and Nero d’Avola.

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