We are under the sky…
This is a phrase my grandmother often repeated to explain that, in agriculture, we are at the mercy of Nature and the weather.
My father, who is 63 years old and started working at 11, tells me that he has never seen a situation like the current one.
We are, in fact, facing a situation of drought that is becoming more severe day by day.
✔️ The rainfall deficit over the last six months has been 55% compared to the historical average.
✔️ In May, the second warmest since 1965, temperatures were 2.5 degrees higher than normal, and in the first ten days of June, they were 0.9 degrees higher.
✔️ The snowpack at higher altitudes is 60% below the norm.
Even the thunderstorms and downpours expected in the coming days will not be enough to reverse the trend. It needed to rain in winter and spring to replenish reserves. Summer rain at most causes damage, not storage.
What’s happening to our vineyards?
We are experiencing very severe water stress, especially on the sandiest ridges.
The vines are struggling to grow, and in some cases, they don’t even reach the third wire.
The plant tends to bud and fruit only near the main trunk. The terminal buds have only produced small shoots that won’t yield clusters.
As a result, production will be reduced.