Heatwaves force early Spanish wine harvests, night-time picking

Record ID: 1686838

  • Title: Heatwaves force early Spanish wine harvests, night-time picking
  • Date: 30th August 2022
  • Summary: BELMONTE DE TAJO, SPAIN (AUGUST 28, 2022) (REUTERS) TIME-LAPSE OF WORKERS HARVESTING GRAPES USING HEADLAMPS VARIOUS OF WORKER WEARING HEADLAMP CUTTING GRAPES OFF VINE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) GRAPE PICKER AND DAUGHTER OF THE WINERY OWNER, MARTA MORATE, 37, SAYING: “It is far more comfortable because of the temperature, because as you are getting tired temperatures also drop. In the morning, from 10:30 or 11:00 you cannot be out here on the field.” (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF WORKER HARVESTING GRAPES (NIGHT SHOTS) SLOWMOTION SHOT OF GRAPES FALLING INTO BOX AS THEY ARE CUT OFF VINE (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF WORKERS WEARING HEADLAMPS HARVESTING GRAPES (NIGHTSHOT) WORKER HARVESTING GRAPES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) VINYARD WORKER, JAVIER, SAYING: “It is much better to work at night. It is not as hot (as during the day) there are no bugs, and you work more comfortably. Yes, we appreciate it (to work at night). At this moment it is impossible to work during the day, we would be grilled.” (NIGHTSHOT) VARIOUS OF WORKER DRINKING WATER DURING BREAK (NIGHTSHOT) WORKERS HARVESTING GRAPES (NIGHTSHOT) VARIOUS OF TRACTOR CARRYING GRAPES DRIVING THROUGH THE VINEYARD (NIGHTSHOT) WORKER MOVING BOXES FULL OF GRAPES (NIGHTSHOT) WORKER DRINKING WATER (NIGHTSHOT) VARIOUS OF WORKERS MOVING BOXES FULL OF GRAPES (NIGHTSHOT) WORKERS HARVESTING GRAPES (NIGHTSHOT) VARIOUS OF WORKERS LOADING GRAPES ONTO TRACTOR (NIGHTSHOT) VARIOUS OF WORKERS RESTING AND HAVING MEAL (MUTE) TIME-LAPSE OF WORKERS HARVESTING GRAPES AT DAWN VARIOUS OF CLUSTER OF GRAPES AND PEOPLE WORKING IN THE BACKGROUND (MUTE) TIME-LAPSE OF WORKERS HARVESTING GRAPES WORKER DRIVING TRACTOR (MUTE) VARIOUS OF TIME-LAPSE OF WORKERS HARVESTING GRAPES ANDRES MORATE, 66, OWNER OF THE ANDRES MORATE WINERY, PUSHING WHEEL BARROW FULL OF GRAPES VARIOUS OF MORATE HARVESTING GRAPES ANDRES MORATE HARVESTING GRAPES (UPSOUND) (Spanish) “The main reason is so people can work in optimal conditions. There are benefits for the grapes too, clearly, because the cooler the grape is when it gets to the cellar, the less we have to bring down the temperature to control it. We all benefit.” ANDRES MORATE WORKING ANDRES MORATE HARVESTING GRAPES AND SAYING (UPSOUND) (Spanish) “If we don't have sustainable and ecological farming, in a few years we won’t have farms. Everything is overexploited and regarding agriculture, as with most things, we either make it sustainable or there will be no agriculture in some years.” ANDRES MORATE WORKING ANDRES MORATE HARVESTING GRAPES AND SAYING (UPSOUND) (Spanish) “Vineyards should grow only what the soil can provide, you should not overexploit it. You cannot harvest more kilograms from a field than what the field can produce. How can you produce more? Using chemical products and water. I don’t agree with that so we produce a wine that doesn’t overexploit the aquifers or the soil. It is a sustainable product.” VARIOUS OF GRAPES BEING HARVESTED AT DAWN
  • Embargoed: 13th September 2022 08:41
  • Keywords: Spain Weather grapes heat night harvest vinyard wine
  • Location: BELMONTE DE TAJO, SPAIN
  • City: BELMONTE DE TAJO, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Climate Adaptation and Solution,Climate Change,Environment,Europe,General News,Editors' Choice
  • Reuters ID: LVA001128029082022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Their LED headlamps swaying in the darkness, workers at the Bodega Andres Morate vineyards resemble fireflies from a distance as they roll their wheel carts from one grapevine to another cutting grape bunches at night.
    Forced to start harvesting a few weeks earlier in the season due to brutal summer temperatures and severe drought influenced by climate change, a number of Spanish vineyards such as this one in the Madrid region have also switched to night-time grape-picking to avoid working in the sweltering August heat.
    Grapes are usually harvested in mid-September, but Andres Morate began hand-picking on his 20-hectare plot on Aug. 24.
    "It is far more comfortable because of the temperature, because as you are getting tired temperatures also drop. In the morning, from 10:30 or 11:00 you cannot be out here on the field," Marta Morate, the owner´s daughter told Reuters.
    "And now the drought joins in...this has been one of the toughest summers ever and each year there are (temperature) records being broken," he added.
    Climate change has left parts of the Iberian peninsula at their driest in 1,200 years, according to a study published last month in the Nature Geoscience journal. Spain has suffered three unusually long and extensive heatwaves this summer that have exacerbated the drought and stoked devastating wildfires.
    Although grapes grew abundantly this year, the dry heat made them less juicy, Morate complained.
    Morate, who prides himself on sustainable, eco-friendly production without chemical fertilizers or irrigation, noted also that the berries ideally require a slower pace of development from fruit set to harvesting for the best results than what the weather has dictated lately.
    ¨If we don't have sustainable and ecological farming, in a few years we won’t have farms,¨ the 66-year-old businessman said.
    Working at night, from sundown till 2-3 a.m., however, has its benefits not only for the people but also for the grapes before they are pressed to make wine, he said.
    ¨There are benefits for the grapes too, clearly, because the cooler the grape is when it gets to the cellar, the less we have to bring down the temperature to control it. We all benefit,” Morate added.
    (Production: Marco Trujillo, Andrei Khalip, Silvio Castellanos)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register