Rioja has reported its smallest grape harvest this century. The 2024 vintage was 30% down on 2023 – itself a relatively small vintage, according to Foods & Wines from Spain.
The region experienced “very complicated conditions”, the generic body reported, with far more rainfall than in recent years.
Growers have praised the quality of the fruit that they managed to pick, but had to contend with grapes splitting and rotting as harvest approached.
The 2024 vintage for Spain as a whole was marginally ahead of 2023 – the smallest harvest for 60 years. “In fact, production in 2024 is expected to be some 12% lower than 2022’s harvest of 41 million hectolitres,” said Foods & Wines from Spain.
It added: “Total figures have been buoyed up by a relatively successful harvest in Castile-La-Mancha, which represented over 60% of this year’s total production, compared to 50% in a more normal year.
“However, like many regions, the production was still down on the average of the last 10 years, reflecting the ongoing aftermath of three years of drought.
“This was common to many areas, with Rioja, Catalonia and the Levante, as well as both Spanish archipelagos, seeing particularly small harvests.”