Champagne houses of the LVMH group are hoping for a 'promising' harvest this year, with the grape harvest season officially kicking off on 9 September.
With periods of intense heat, late-blooming, and heatwaves, the year is being considered as an 'atypical' one, LVMH said.
It has set great hopes for the 2019 vintage as the sugar concentration in grapes was twice the expected level at the end of August - a factor that stimulates the maturation process.
According to Vincent Chaperon, the Cellar Master of Dom Pérignon, the hot weather and absence of rain during maturation will result in "concentration and richness", while the relatively high level of acidity in the grapes could lead to "a certain tension" in the future wines.
The Harvest Season
Every year, thousands of seasonal workers flow into the region to help with the harvests.
In Champagne, grapes are harvested by hand to keep the bunches intact, thereby ensuring optimal pressing.
This year, around 5,000 people will work for three weeks to harvest grapes from the estates of Dom Pérignon, Ruinart, Moët & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot, Krug, and Mercier, spread across an area of 17 square kilometres, LVMH added.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
