VINEYARDS producing grapes for Binissalem's original trade mark (DO) wine are registering a record harvest of between 4'000 and 5'000 tonnes, wine companies claimed yesterday.
The same sources pointed out that the figure is in stark contrast to the volume of grapes collected last year, just 2'700 tonnes. But there is apparently a price to pay for what some wine industry specialists are describing as an excessive harvest. Around 100 smaller farmers in Binissalem, who grow grapes but do not have wine production facilities, are finding great difficulty in selling their grapes. Binissalem's wine trade mark President, Pere Calafat, explained that production levels were dangerously close to 9'000 kilos per hectare. Once this limit is superseded, the quality of the grape falls and consequently the value of the wine product.