This year’s grape harvest will finish by the end of August, and the total harvested will be low, according to the Lanzarote Regulating Council of the Denomination of Origin of Wines.
It is estimated that no more than 1.3 million kilograms of grapes will be harvested, a result that contrasts with hopeful predictions of around 2 million kilos earlier in the year.
The surprisingly cool summer of cloudy mornings and the recent calima are among the causes for the low amount of produce.
Nevertheless, scant harvests are often of higher quality, and this appears to be the case this year. The malvasía volcánica and listán strains of grape are reported to be excellent, and the same is expected of the diego and moscatel varieties, which are currently being harvested.
The low harvest means that around a million bottles will be produced this year, from the fruit supplied by 1,800 grape growers to thirty authorised bodegas. This may mean that bodegas will struggle to meet demand, although many will rely on a surplus stock from last year’s bumper harvest.
