My Vineyard Blog April 2017

Wednesday 12th April - Spring going on Summer.

After a wet winter, the barragem is full to overflowing and the landscape is looking particularly luxuriant this spring. The colours are electric at the moment with the yellow of the giesta (broom) and the stark white esteva flowers under a bright blue sky. After the frosts three weeks ago, it now feels like summer today with the thermometer reaching 30oC before lunchtime.  I walk round the vineyard inspecting the frost damage which now seems to be minimal. With plenty of ground water, the vines seem to have recovered quickly, helped by the warm weather.

Monday 27th March – Frost and Snow​

For the first time in 12 years we had a spring frost at Quinta do Centro. On 23rd and 25th the frost caught the vines at the bottom of the valley. It is too early to assess the damage but it seems as though some of the Touriga, the old vines and the Syrah – Viognier may have been harmed. There was a scattering of snow on the Serra de São Mamede and it snowed in the Douro.