What can we expect from the 2022 vintage in Spain?

Spain is known for hot summers – but 2022 beat all records. The month of July showed the highest average temperature ever measured since records began in 1961: at 26.6°C, this was around 2.7 degrees more than in an average year. July was not only hot in Spain, but also the driest month in the past 15 years. Logically, this also had drastic consequences for the vines. In various regions, the harvest began historically early. In parts of Catalonia, the harvesting teams started on 27^th July, in the Sherry region on 28^th July and in the northern D.O. of Rueda on 27^th July. Legendary Tempranillo regions such as Rioja or Ribera del Duero also reported an extremely early start to the harvest as well as problems with drought stress and the associated grape quality.