site.bta Mildew, Hailstorms Have Ruined Grape Harvest - up to 85% at Places

Mildew, Hailstorms Have Ruined Grape Harvest - up to 85% at Places


Plovdiv, Southern Bulgaria, November 11 (BTA) - Hailstorms and
diseases have destroyed the grape harvest across the country
this year. At some places, like the foothills of the Rhodope
mountains near Plovdiv, farmers harvested 70-85 per cent less
grapes than they did last year, the Chairman of the National
Vine and Wine Chamber, Radoslav Radev, told BTA.

The output of wine grapes is 60-70 per cent of last year's.

Harvesting is still underway in some vineyards and the final
figures might change but not dramatically, Radev said. He added
that growers also have a problem with the quality of the grapes.
 

The poor grape harvest this year is mainly due to unfavourable
weather conditions, including hailstorms, rains, floodings, low
temperatures and not enough sunny days.

While the picture may be different in some parts of Bulgaria,
particularly in some micro-regions, and in respect to some
varieties, the situation is unfavourable across the country.

Producers who did their best to protect their vineyards and
grapes managed to maximize their income despite the unfavourable
 conditions, Radev added.

Rositsa Kichoukova, Manager of Villa Vinifera winery in the
southern village of Brestovitsa, said multiple dustings helped
them salvage part of the harvest but still it was a third of
last year's and of inferior quality. This year sugar content
reached just 21-22 per cent, compared to 24-26 per cent last
year. As the grapes will not allow the wine to age they will
sell young wines, she explained. 

Georgi Toushev, a wine-maker from the nearby village of
Brestnik, told BTA they have picked 70 per cent grapes less than
 they did last year. To make wine, they had to buy grapes from
Northern Bulgaria. "We have never done that before," he said.

The wineries in the vicinity of Purvenets, Plovdiv region, are
reporting even worse results - 85 per cent harvested grapes less
 than last year.

To quote Yulian Yamantiev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Vintners'
Board and owner of Yamantievi Winery in the vicinity of
Ivailovgrad, many of the farmers gave up in the middle of the
campaign. They had neither the equipment nor the markets, so
they did not see any sense in continuing, he explained.

For wine producers with their own vineyards the higher price of
grapes will not have a dramatic impact on wine, but for those
who have had to buy the fruit the increase will be significant
as wine grape prices this year are three times what they were,
Yamantiev said.

Radev explained he does not expect grave repercussions on the
domestic or the foreign wine markets as, regardless of the price
 of grapes, the prices of electricity and fuels are much more
important.

The Director of the Executive Agency of Vine and Wine, Krassimir
 Koev, shares this view. He said remaining stock of old wines
will held Bulgarian producers balance the market and fulfil
their contracts.