Vila Real, Portugal, Oct. 17, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's Douro and Port Wine Institute (IVDP), which regulates the production of wine from the Douro Valley region, is to calculate in how many vineyard plots the grapes have not been harvested or only some of which have been harvested, in line with a recommendation from the Interprofessional Association of Professional Douro Winegrowers (Prodouro).

The 2024 harvest is almost complete in the Douro, with many growers having edifficulties in selling their grapes, some of which are being left on the vine where they were not destined for use in the port wine industry. 

Port wine operators have claimed that their stocks were full and so this year they did not buy grapers, or bought fewer.

Faced with this scenario and in order to better understand the reality and guide future actions, Prodouro recommended to the IVDP's interprofessional council, which accepted the suggestion, an addendum to the 2024 'harvest and production declaration' in which each grower declares the area and type of vineyard where he did not harvest due to a lack of buyers.

In the wake of the council's own recommendation, the IVDP has already sent an email to winegrowers, with a table attached, asking them to specify the plots not harvested - information that the institute has said must be submitted by 15 November.

The president of Prodouro, Rui Soares, told the Lusa news agency that the aim is to quantify, measure and evaluate in order to have "a real perception of the [amount of9 grapes left in the vineyard."

Depending on the information found and validated by the IVDP, he added, a second objective is to take action.

"If we come to the conclusion that it was indeed a problem that affected a lot of people and that a lot of barrels were left unharvested, then we can think about compensatory measures for these situations, but we can only evaluate and make decisions if we have this quantified and monitored," he stressed. "That's why we're suggesting it."

Throughout the harvest, Lusa heard testimony from farmers who said they had been forced to leave on the vine a quantity of grapes "without benefit" - that is, the amount of must that each producer is allowed to use to make port wine.

Other growers who are members of co-operative wineries were relieved to be able to hand over their grapes to these, although in some cases producers still do not know how much they will receive for their output. Coops are obliged to receive members' grapes and many have closed their doors to new members.

"It was an atypical year," said the president of the Union of Cooperative Wineries of the Douro Demarcated Region (Uniadegas), José Meneses, who emphasised the problem of lack of storage, since wineries had high stocks. "And now, with this campaign, it's going to be difficult for the wineries to sell the product, at least at a reasonable price."

He noted that, given the quantity of grapes that the wineries have collected, it will also be necessary to “readjust prices” paid to producers because "when there's no outlet for the product and no market to absorb it, it's tricky."

He called for the provenance of the wines and where they are bottled to be clearly defined on the labels: "that's what we're asking for - it's fairness to our growers."

He also said that measures announced by the government, such as crisis distillation and a €100-million credit line, with below-market interest rates, had helped to "bridge some gaps" in growers' finances, but he called for the creation of specific support lines for the modernisation of wineries.

The €100-million credit line is aimed at supporting producers and suppliers of grapes purchased or to be purchased, to help ease cashflow constraints.

According to Meneses, the harvest in the Douro "remained the same or even increased slightly" on last year; he cited the example of his own winery, Torre de Moncorvo, which saw a 15% increase in output.

"The ripening of the grapes was very gradual, we had very moderate temperatures and we even believe it's a quality year," he stressed.

Uniadegas represents 10 co-operative wineries.

PLI/ARO // ARO.

Lusa