Schrödinger’s Harvest — San Polino

A season of uncertainty

The 2024 growing cycle alternated between promising and threatening conditions from May through October. A mild winter was followed by budbreak approximately two weeks later than usual, then a cool and rainy spring and early summer. July and August brought intense heat, with some vineyard days exceeding 40°C. September introduced rain and persistent hail threats.

Despite the summer heat, sugar readings advanced unexpectedly slowly. The team concluded that the vines had entered a defensive dormancy during the hottest period, closing their pores against excessive sunlight.

Waiting for ripeness

Late-September forecasts threatened further storms, but the team delayed picking until the grapes reached the desired maturity. Mould-eating bacterial preparations kept the fruit healthy during the wait. Maturation then accelerated rapidly.

Harvest began on 2 October and ended on 16 October as threatening clouds approached. Picking proceeded intermittently, plot by plot, according to ripeness, fruit character and rainfall. A large team worked manually in the vineyards and continuously in the cellar, ultimately bringing in an abundant, healthy crop.

Twenty-two cellar lots

The new wines occupied 22 actively fermenting vats. Every vessel was labelled with the harvest date, precise vineyard section and fermentation history. Temperatures were recorded twice daily, cellar hygiene and records were closely maintained, and the first nine completed lots were sampled for laboratory analysis.

The wines remained on their skins as the team prepared for pressing and planned the sequence for filling barrels. The outcome was attributed to painstaking manual vineyard work, selective harvesting and repeated decisions about when to intervene and when to wait. The season is presented as a practical demonstration of regenerative viticulture: meeting natural processes with observation, restraint and carefully timed action amid an exceptional abundance of insects, flowers, wildlife, reptiles, fungi, bats, birds and fruit.