I was pleased to see this year’s first Mallorcan grapes on sale in the local markets, a week ago; they tasted really good, by the way. I was surprised, however, to read in the local newspapers that the annual wine harvest started last week, as well.

I was surprised because September is usually the month when the Mallorcan wine harvest takes place. The grape harvest is traditionally related to the cycles of the moon, hence, the wine festival moves along in the calendar. The next full moon falls on September 15th. Binissalem is Mallorca’s big wine making community, and the Festa des Vermar de Binissalem this year is scheduled for the period of September 13th to 26th.

Be that as it may, the bad news is that this years grapes appear to have suffered from the heavy rains in May and June. Accordingly, there will be less quantity of uvas this year, but, if one can believe it, the quality of the resulting wine may still be quite good. 

We just shall have to wait and see. Let’s enjoy some of the grapes in the meantime.

The photo was taken in Manacor, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: August 11th, 2008. The time was 11:06:56.