Spanish winery Juvé & Camps has commenced its earliest harvest on record, with picking taking place at night to avoid gruelling heat conditions. 

According to the winery, it decided to begin harvesting in July to preserve the freshness and acidity of its grapes. 

It added that it also chose to harvest at night to prevent the harvesting team from being exposed to the intense heat of the day. 

On average, temperatures around the Espiells estate, where the harvest began, have been reaching 30°C, with a moderate high-temperature warning issued by the State Meteorological Agency. 

The winery said that, in addition to improving worker comfort, harvesting in the dark would ensure that the grapes arrive at the winery in optimal condition. It added that it remains committed to “a manual and precise harvest, guided by respect for our land”. 

Despite the heat, Juvé & Camps said it expects a high-quality vintage, with balanced wines that express the identity of the Penedès region. 

Commenting on the upcoming harvest, Pep Jiménez, viticulture director at Juvé & Camps, said that winter rainfall restored balance to the soils, allowing the vines to reach ripeness with greater water availability than in previous years. 

“The grapes are healthy and uniform; now the challenge is to read each plot and harvest it at precisely the right moment, without letting the season’s overall earliness dictate our decisions,” he said. 

On the harvest, Laura Tragant, technical director at Juvé & Camps, added: “The first samples show a highly promising combination of freshness, ripeness and natural acidity.  

“We expect precise base wines with tension, aromatic expression and the structure required for the long ageing that defines the Juvé & Camps style. 

“Everything points to a balanced and distinctive vintage, with the ideal conditions to produce brut nature sparkling wines of remarkable depth,” 

As for quantity, Juvé & Camps said it is aiming to harvest around 1 million kg of grapes from its own vineyards, resulting in an estimated average yield of 5,000 kg per hectare. However, this will depend on the weather during the harvest period.