For The Love Of Port

Niepoort picked a small parcel of Pinot Noir from Quinta da Napoles today. It may not be a lot but it does count. When you hear of others starting their harvest, please post in this thread.

I saw that and was surprised. Does this look to be a very early year in general due to the weather, or is this a function of Pinot Noir itself?

Pinot Noir is an early ripening grape. It needs a cooler area than most grapes and probably is planted on a North facing slope at the Quinta

Shawn Denkler wrote:Pinot Noir is an early ripening grape. It needs a cooler area than most grapes and probably is planted on a North facing slope at the Quinta

That makes sense now that I think about where it is most commonly planted in the US, and France for that matter.

I had vaguely assumed this was mapping out to be a hot year, given the heatwaves elsewhere in Europe, but looking at charts that show this year's temperatures compared to long term averages, it looks to be have been slightly cooler for most of the spring and summer, save for a high blip in the middle of last month.

There has also been a significant amount of rain over the past few days - more than is probably welcome.

Anyone heard any news from the front lines?

Heard there was some rain and a little hail Sunday. Didn't hear more than that. Picking has started for Port grapes for some. Anyone else heard anything? How's the overall quality of the vintage looking so far?

Andy Velebil wrote:Heard there was some rain and a little hail Sunday. Didn't hear more than that. Picking has started for Port grapes for some. Anyone else heard anything? How's the overall quality of the vintage looking so far?

Hail is deadly at this time of year. It's bad at any time in the summer, but bruised grapes a couple of weeks before harvest can begin can turn a fine harvest into a rotten mess. I hope it wasn't widespread.

Symington has announced the beginning of their harvest at Quinta do Ataíde on their Instagram account yesterday. They typically only produce Douro DOC from this Quinta, though

Viera de Sousa posted on Facebook that they had started harvesting. I think they mentioned Port grapes, but could be wrong on that.

Seems most have started both Douro wines and now Port grapes. Haven't heard overall how things are looking thus far. Anyone?

I've been told this year is looking really good so far. If the weather continues to hold...

Andy Velebil wrote:I've been told this year is looking really good so far. If the weather continues to hold...

Excellent, we can nowstart the speculation on which produceres are going for a trifecta

Claus P wrote:

Andy Velebil wrote:I've been told this year is looking really good so far. If the weather continues to hold...

Excellent, we can nowstart the speculation on which produceres are going for a trifecta

Do we get the conspiracy theories started now or later

Claus P wrote:Excellent, we can nowstart the speculation on which produceres are going for a trifecta

I can think of a few that would be happy to declare three years in a row, but I also think it will have to be a stellar vintage for some of the big names to do so. There is that economics thing of supply and demand.

Or maybe we all need to Relax.
I seem to have forgotten 2018

Something pointed me to this report which has been sitting in my browser for a while. This seems an appropriate thread to link it:
https://porttoportwine.blogspot.com/201 ... eport.html