For The Love Of Port

Thomas V wrote:A what point would we outsiders gain information about if 2015 will be declared as a VP year by the different producers?

I have read it is approximately around 1 year and 4 months after the harvest that the producers will send a sample to the IVP.

Also how long is the process from the samples are sent in until the producers make it official

Officially, about 16-18 months post harvest. However, the happy rumblings and rumors will start well before that if things are looking real good.

Another nice update from Graham's: http://blog.grahams-port.com/2015/09/11 ... -malvedos/

I saw on FB someone posted rain was coming to the Douro quite quickly. Of course, it's a big place and while the west side can get lots of rain the east side can be dry or mostly dry. Keep fingers crossed it's a light brief spell that doesn't do any damage.

Keep fingers crossed it's a light brief spell that doesn't do any damage.

Of course, but the latest forecast is only marginally better than a day ago.

I've heard there's been a scramble to bring in the best grapes (as also happened last year..) and if you look at the BBC weather map, you can understand why:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2735943

(and neither Accuweather, nor the Portuguese IPMA, disagree..)

The Marao has ridden to the rescue before though - we'll know more in 24hrs time..

Weather forecast looks quite grim for all of Portugal, but especially in the north. IPMA basically says for the next 24 hours there will be strong winds and heavy rain across the north. With the winds and rain finally reaching Lisbon this evening.
For the Vila Real district they have 6 warnings of various colors for winds, rain, and "extreme weather phenomena"

The reporting station at Vila Real recorded over an inch (27mm) on Sunday, and there's little sign of a reprieve today..

That's not sounding good at all.

Pinhao weather shows thunderstorms tonight and more rain through Friday, then better weather this weekend and next week with very little chance of rain. Where is the fingers crossed emoticon? And will it even matter then, or be too late with all this rain now?

Eric Menchen wrote:Pinhao weather shows thunderstorms tonight and more rain through Friday, then better weather this weekend and next week with very little chance of rain. Where is the fingers crossed emoticon? And will it even matter then, or be too late with all this rain now?

A little rain that then clears out quickly with a nice wind to dry things off and prevent mold generally isn't an issue. Sustained heavy rain, warm temps, and little to no wind would be disastrous...As it was last year.

And for reference, it takes about 2 days for the grapes to absorb the water and for it to start diluting the berries. So you've got a short window once it starts raining. Though you do need to do something (blow dry, shake dry) the grapes to remove excess water as they are brought in so you don't dilute the must.

The flip side is if the grapes are behind in maturation then a little rain could help them. Then you need clear ideal weather after said short rain spell for the grapes to then continue to ripen or balance themselves out again. That is the tricky part...

A well known producer has contacted me to say that 60% of his A grade port grapes have been brought in before the rain. For the remainder of the A grades, the rain has come late and is a problem. However, he is hopeful that there is still time for the B and C grade grapes to get over the rain without damage, provided the rain is followed by ten days of clear dry weather - which is currently forecast.

Tom Archer wrote:A well known producer has contacted me to say that 60% of his A grade port grapes have been brought in before the rain. For the remainder of the A grades, the rain has come late and is a problem. However, he is hopeful that there is still time for the B and C grade grapes to get over the rain without damage, provided the rain is followed by ten days of clear dry weather - which is currently forecast.

Have you heard what areas of the Douro got hit worse?

This was posted on Graham's Facebook page:

GRAHAM's Port Wine wrote: The arrival of tropical storm "Henri" yesterday morning has made September the wettest month of the year at Quinta dos Malvedos. Due to the abundant rainfall (54.8mm) picking had to be called off for the day. The rain was followed by strong overnight winds which rapidly dried the grapes and with dry, sunny conditions forecast for the next few days, the vintage is back on track.

54.8 mm?!? Yikes! That's 2" of rain!

Glenn E. wrote:This was posted on Graham's Facebook page:

GRAHAM's Port Wine wrote: The arrival of tropical storm "Henri" yesterday morning has made September the wettest month of the year at Quinta dos Malvedos. Due to the abundant rainfall (54.8mm) picking had to be called off for the day. The rain was followed by strong overnight winds which rapidly dried the grapes and with dry, sunny conditions forecast for the next few days, the vintage is back on track.

54.8 mm?!? Yikes! That's 2" of rain!

Yes, but strong winds and good weather the rest of the vintage would put help to put most things back on track...hopefully.

Yes, but strong winds and good weather the rest of the vintage would put help to put most things back on track...hopefully.

Hopefully, yes, but can you think of a great vintage that survived such a deluge at this time, just as the best grapes were approaching peak ripeness?

From Graham's:

The arrival of tropical storm "Henri" yesterday morning has made September the wettest month of the year at Quinta dos Malvedos. Due to the abundant rainfall (54.8mm) picking had to be called off for the day. The rain was followed by strong overnight winds which rapidly dried the grapes and with dry, sunny conditions forecast for the next few days, the vintage is back on track.


Sounds good.

Oscar Quevedo mentioned that the harvest has been put on hold until Monday.

The IVDP President has stated it was temporarily suspended at several properties.

Roy Hersh wrote:Oscar Quevedo mentioned that the harvest has been put on hold until Monday.

The IVDP President has stated it was temporarily suspended at several properties.

Generally speaking, that's a long time and not good news for those waiting to pick grapes.


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Much ado about nothing. The harvest is in progress and doing quite well at this point. The couple of days of rain actually helped some and didn't effect others, while a few did get a good scare. More first hand reports coming shortly.

Email received from a very contented Dirk Niepoort. Superb musts achieved from port grapes harvested prior to the rain, and happy to take a chance on what remains, as the good juice is safely gathered in.

Regardless of what others do, I think it highly likely that we will see a 2015 Niepoort VP.

Tom Archer wrote:Email received from a very contented Dirk Niepoort. Superb musts achieved from port grapes harvested prior to the rain, and happy to take a chance on what remains, as the good juice is safely gathered in.

Regardless of what others do, I think it highly likely that we will see a 2015 Niepoort VP.

Like I mentioned earlier, this will be a tale of two vintages within one. Those who picked prior to the rain and those who waited and may not fair as well. Impossible to say generally as we all know about the massive micro-climates. But if you got your best grapes in prior you're most likely golden. After, well everyone needs stuff for LBV's, Ruby Reserve's, etc.