In general, this year's winter has been very mild, and although the spring was cooler than usual, the season has started between a week and ten days earlier in the main producing areas. Despite this, the internal quality and, above all, the appearance of the table grapes stand out compared to past campaigns.
"There has been a good temperature contrast between day and night, which has given the red grapes a great colour. Normally, the red varieties face the most difficulty in completing the colouring, but this year the colouring is one of the best I've ever seen," explains Pepe Olivas, head of the technical department of the Spanish company Grupo El Ciruelo.
According to Pepe Olivas, the table grape season is running smoothly. "While demand for table grapes usually drops in late August and September, coinciding with the holiday and post-holiday period, this campaign has remained stable, both in terms of prices and demand."
"Fortunately, compared to other products, such as stone-fruit and citrus, European consumers, our main customers, do not associate the consumption of table grapes with a certain time of year - neither with hot or cold weather. This is a crucial factor to explain the sector's stability," affirms the expert.
Moreover, the impact of powdery mildew on grapes in the Region of Murcia has been very small compared with other producing areas, like Alicante.
"The most sensitive varieties to this disease are the white ones; the varietal factor is very important quite apart from the influence of the weather. Moreover, the treatments undergone by the plants at the start of the cycle are also important, as well as the fertigation with a good balance between water and nitrogen fertilizer. A grape field with enough light and air will always suffer fewer problems with powdery mildew."