“It is a tragedy,” said one producer speaking to db last week in Etna, where some vineyards have lost almost their entire harvest due to an attack of downy mildew following humid conditions early on in the growing season.
During a discussion with Giordano Lorefice, who is the owner of Etna’s Tenute dei Ciclopi, it became quickly apparent that this year’s vintage has been one of the most challenging on record for producers who tend vines on the northern side of the volcano in Sicily. Commenting on the quantity of grapes he expects to harvest next month, Lorefice – a part-time wine producer who heads up legal affairs for Cinecittà Studios – said that he expects his vines to yield just 10% of their usual production, ascribing the massive decrease in volume to Peronospora, a fungal disease better known as Downy mildew. “We’ve never had Peronospora this bad in the last 10 years; it is a tragedy, we’ve lost 70-90% of the harvest” he told db, adding, “We are organic, and had no chance to kill it, we can only try to isolate it.” Similarly, Mario Paoluzi from I Custodi, another producer who owns vineyards on Etna’s northern slopes, said that in some plots as much as 95% of this year’s production has been destroyed by the fungus, which thrives in warm, wet conditions. “The cause of the problem was the rain in May and June,” he said, referring to a prolonged period of humidity during flowering and fruit set
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
