August saw the beginning of the harvest season for Guerrieri Rizzardi.  It was very rare to harvest before the beginning of September, yet the last few years have dictated its necessity. A brief report now follows outlining our results from the different wine regions/ appellations in the Veneto.

Valdadige: We harvested the Chardonnay from Dolcè during the last week of August. The grapes were very mature with good acidity.  The acidity level reached is the result of the cooling conditions of the surrounding mountain regions, Lessini to the East and the Monte Baldo to the West.

Valpolicella  (grapes for Amarone)  The 28th of August saw the selection of the grapes to be dried in the “ fruttaio” – or drying cellar. The Barbera and Sangiovese from the Rovereti vineyard were the first to arrive followed by the Calcarole Hill fruit.  Between September 4th and September 10th, we harvested Barbera, Corvina and Rondinella however, we left the Corvinone on the vines as they were too compact. The last vineyard to be harvested was the “pergola” trellised trained vines from the Pojega vineyard (Villa Rizzardi). This year the job of visually selecting the grapes was very demanding due to several light hale storms, one on July 11th and the other on August 30th.  Slight damage in the fruit was seen in the more exposed berries in the lower lying trellised “guyot” trained vines than in the  higher canopied “pergola” system. One positive characteristic of the 2007 vintage was that the early harvest had the advantage of the warm and dry climate of September to start three drying period.

Bardolino (grapes for Castello Guerreri Rosso): We had similar conditions for the grapes selected in the Cavaion vineyard as in Valpolicella, this for the production of Castello Guerrieri Rosso.  The early harvest conditions and more favorable weather systems, as well as no damage to the grapes from the hale mean’t that harvest was completed between September 3rd and September 12th.

Valpolicella and Bardolino: Harvest 2007, advanced by 2 to 3 weeks compared to previous vintages, is characterized by a dense colour in the grapes which is caused by the high temperatures of spring, and by a minor weight of the berries and a higher level of total acidity. The Merlot from Valpolicella and Cavaion was picked in the first two weeks of September.  The harvest was very mature, with a good acidity level which provides a style of wine that is fresh and fruit forward, with a solid structure. In Bardolino and Cavaion, we harvested several younger vineyards for the production of our rosé wines, Chiaretto and Rosa Rosae, in order to preserve aromas and the freshness in the wines. The majority of the red grapes: Corvina, Corvinone, Rondinella and Sangiovese from Bardolino and Negrar (Valpolicella), were harvested in the second half of September and in the first ten days of October. The vats of Corvina, Merlot, Chardonnay and Corvinone wine seem to have the best results and we are very satisfied as they represent two thirds of our vineyards.

Soave: After a very warm Spring, the Summer was characterized by a normal climate despite the two light hale storms of July 2nd and July 30th which had us be extra attentive to the grape selection during harvest. The perfectly matured Chardonnay fruit was harvested at the end of August, in the early morning so as to avoid the high heat of midday. The younger vineyards of Garganega and Trebbiano were harvested on September 24th and 25th. We delayed the harvesting of the older Garganega vines of Costeggiola to slightly over maturation in order to enhance its great golden colour and concentration of berries. These grapes were harvested between October 8th and October 9th.

In general, the quality of 2007 vintages, in the four estates, is very good and the harvest was made in optimum weather conditions.



DOWNLOAD THIS PAGE AS PDF