First of the Autumn Rain

Torrential rain (as forecast) today as a deep depression moves in from the Atlantic,  so vintage is on hold until tomorrow. There is going to be a let up tomorrow followed by more rain early next week if the forecast is correct. So far most people I have talked to have nearly finished harvesting (even up in the Douro) but we still have about a thirsd of our crop to pick. The Alicante Bouschet cold do with a few more days to ripen but the rest of thr Trincadeira needs to be picked fairly quickly now that the rain is falling. I hope that we are still on for a Pedra e Alma year – fingers and toes crossed. The Trincadeira that we have in the adega so far is ripe, fruity but soft and not showing much sign of structure. 2013 might still turn out to be that sort of year.