It is the second winter in a row with extremely dry conditions. We had basically no rain from mid-December to April. Lake Garda, which is a 40-minute drive from our winery, had the lowest water level ever recorded in 2023. The consequences on flora and fauna were dramatic, with the liveliness of nature feeling reduced. My ski season cost me two pair of skies, as even the northern couloirs on glacier areas were full of stones. Continuous hard times for my beloved winter-alpinism in the Dolomites.
Then everything flipped: May, June and especially July were extremely rainy. The lack of water in the winter season was recuperated by end of September. In terms of temperatures it was quite a ride: the winter was very mild, summer cold and September and October surprisingly hot. These conditions had a strong impact on vegetation and on the vines. Mildew was our main concern (15% loss of production) with added hail damage on a part of the Foradori Rosso vineyards. All in all, we had 22% less production compared to 2022, which which felt like a normal good harvest.
All the white varieties reacted quite well to these conditions: we have more acidity than 2022 and less opulent fruit. The reds, which are still fermenting, are less consistent and more obscure in their evolution at the moment. Maturation was regular, but the fruit is not as bright we'd hoped. The lack of light during the summer season is showing the more herbal and spicy side of Teroldego.
Harvest started August 28th and finished October 2nd; quite long for us. The Pinot Grigio was hit by hail twice: once in July and once in August. The damage felt negligible in the first instance, but, when it came to harvest, we saw the result on the sorting table. Many berries were dried out or not fully matured because they were touched -even slightly- by the storms. Our Pinot Grigio is planted in the pergola system, so leaves protect grapes from more dramatic damage. Still, light scoffs still reduce maturation significantly. We had to sort these berries out carefully. The result was reduced quantities but, after fermentation, the wines are bright and straight as arrows.
We decided to pick Manzoni Bianco quite early, in the beginning of September. Acidities were still nice around the end of August. September stayed quite warm. We succeeded well in choosing the moment of harvest to have a good balance of phenolic maturation and freshness. Fermentations were very regular. Nosiola was more complicated to interpret: We decided to proceed with the picking in two passes with almost two weeks of pause in between. The aim was to keep freshness by picking early and search more complexity with a later harvest. Today the first picking shows more energy and tension, which I prefer at the moment. It will be curious to see how both trials will develop.
By the end of July, the Teroldego was unbalanced and showed an irregular veraison. This was the consequence of the extremely rainy month. We decreased the yield on average by 20% -by cutting down green fruit- to get the rest to ripen regularly. It was a good decision. Unfortunately the hail hit plots for the Foradori Rosso and Sgarzon lost an additional 20% with later storms. Maturation was slow even with a warm September and some rain in the first half of the month. The first pickings showed a crunchy fruit. Morei, picked later this time, reminds me of cold Syrah from Cornas. The Granato vineyards (especially Regin and Noval) were very healthy. Sgarzon, affected by botrytis and hail, is having a harder time this year, a bit like in 2021.
The 2023 vintage was strongly affected by extreme weather conditions. I think we will see more of this kind of years in future. Plants were stressed and reflect this trend in the fruit. Similar stress levels as 2022, but almost flipped conditions. We have to understand which are the right varieties to interpret such extremes.
Our harvest team was really formidable and the rhythm was constant and pleasant. During Spring and Summer many interventions were needed, due to the constant occurrence of mildew’s favorite weather conditions. It was a particularly work intensive year and we feel deeply thankful for everybody’s sacrifice.
