Hailstorms between Consell and Binissalem on Saturday have decimated some of the area's vineyards, just two weeks before the earliest varieties were due to be harvested.
The hailstorms ripped through vineyards from Camí de Muro to the border with Binissalem and in the area known as the Pla de Bec bordering Santa Maria, destroying most of the grapes and the leaves on the vines.
The Bodegues Ribas vineyard in Consell was one of the worst affected.
“The storm followed the entire line of the vineyards and has affected every one of our plots,” says Aracel Servera, Winemaker and Co-Director of Bodegues Ribas. “The worst affected variety is the Premsal, with a fall of 45% of leaves and 30% of grapes, and the varieties that best resisted the storm are the old vineyards of Mantonegro, with between 5 and 10% of grapes and 20 to 50% of leaves affected.”
Servera says ecological healing treatments are being applied to the grapes that are not ripe enough to harvest, to prevent fungi and diseases.
Lack of maturation
"The loss of such a large volume of leaves prevents the plants from carrying out photosynthesis, so the grapes cannot ripen," explains Pepe Roses at the José L. Ferrer vineyard, whose grapes and leaves in Can Puput, between Consell and Binissalem, were affected by the hailstorms and are being treated with healing agents.
Ramon Servalls, President of the Associació de Cellers de Santa Maria and Director of the Macià Batle vineyard, says the inclement weather is frustrating.
“First the April frosts, and now the hailstorms have affected varieties like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.”
The decline in the harvest couldn’t come at a worse time, the Wine Sector was severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic