Ruta del Vino Somontano

The Varieties Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc are harvested for the first time.

As the final grapes are harvested, the DO Somontano brings the 2010 harvest to a close.  Over 19 million kilos of grapes have been collected from the 34 wineries of the region during the last two months.

The harvest began on the 19th August with the collection of the varieties that mature the earliest, such as the white Chardonnay and the red Merlot.  It continued with the other grape varieties as they progressively ripened and concluded with the harvest of the last remaining plots of Cabernet Sauvignon, a red variety that covers the largest area of the DO Somontano.

Given that the last few grapes are being harvested, the Regulatory Council calculates that once the harvest is finally over, around 19.3 million kilos of grapes will have been collected, which represents an increase of 9% over 2009 when the total reached 17.5 million kilos.  Today the exact figure is 19,252,373 kilos, which is distributed in the following way:-


RED GRAPES             QUANTITY HARVESTED (in kgs.)        PERCENTAGE
Cabernet Sauvignon                5.515.853                                            28,65%
Merlot                                          4.682.727                                            24,32%
Tempranillo                               2.103.652                                            10,93%
Syrah                                          1.334.828                                              6,93%
Garnacha Tinta                          444.727                                                2,31%
Moristel                                        247.870                                               1,29%
Pinot Noir                                    150.447                                               0,78%
Parraleta                                     101.970                                                0,53%

WHITE GRAPES         QUANTITY HARVESTED (in kgs.)        PERCENTAGE
Chardonnay                               2.845.177                                            14,78%
Gewürztraminer                        1.020.450                                              5,30%
Macabeo                                       504.490                                               2,62%
Garnacha Blanca                        128.440                                               0,67%
Riesling                                          85.140                                                0,44%
Sauvignon Blanc                          70.640                                                0,37%
Alcañón                                          15.962                                                0,08%

TOTAL                                        19.252.373                                             100%

The most noticeable feature of the harvest of this wine making region located at the foot of the Pyrenees in the region of Huesca has been the excellent quality of the grapes.  These grapes will be the base of the wines that already have a strong presence in the market as well as new wines made with long-standing favourites as well as newly introduced varieties last May; those of Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc, which have appeared fot their first harvest.