2025 Harvest The producers' perspective between challenges and solutions

Every harvest is a product of its time. This year, in Langhe, Roero and Monferrato, the harvest tells a story of unseasonable rains, intense sun and unexpected early ripening.

To understand how this vintage is really going, after our in-depth look at Moscato, we wanted to listen directly to those who work in the vineyards every day.

Three voices, three neighboring wine areas but with important differences and peculiarities.

A rich picture of nuances with one common point: adaptation.

We thank for their availability, especially during this period that calling intense is an understatement, Claudio Battaglino from Patrunèt Agricultural Company in Vezza, Luca from Ugo Balocco Company and Maurilio Vaira from Tenuta del Barone, who told us how they are facing the ongoing harvest and shared their impressions.

The Climate between Early Surges and Summer Tensions

After a decidedly warm winter, spring brought abundant rainfall, especially in the early phases of the vegetative cycle.

These precipitations, though generous, were in some cases well distributed, favoring plant development without hindering their growth too much.

In other areas, however, they required particular attention to prevent the development of fungal diseases.

The heat wave recorded in the central 15-20 days of August marked a peak that tested the physiological balance of the vines, especially in the most exposed sites.

The temperature variation between day and night in many areas contributed to good aromatic evolution.

Another factor that unites Langhe, Roero and Monferrato is the early ripening: everywhere the harvest begins earlier than historical averages, a trend that is now consolidating and that requires a revision of operational timing in the vineyard.

Adaptation Strategies: Precision Work between Leaves and Soil

As we already saw in our analysis before the beginning of summer, vineyard work was once again decisive in preserving grape health and quality.

The rainy spring required timely interventions and targeted ones: phytosanitary defense required constant attention and ability to adapt to unstable weather conditions.

The differences between areas emerged especially in residual humidity management and in balancing vegetation cover and air circulation in the rows.

A cross-cutting theme in Langhe, Roero and Monferrato was leaf wall management: the traditional defoliation intervention was in many cases limited, to protect the clusters from sun scorch during the hottest weeks.

At the same time, the greater vegetative density made necessary more careful control of microclimatic conditions within the canopy.

In some areas of Monferrato, particular attention was also paid to soil management: controlled grass cover and minimal tillage allowed to retain moisture during dry periods and limit erosion during rainier ones.

Careful Harvest, Healthy Grapes: the Season’s Signals

The harvest opened with white and early grapes already at the peak of their aromatic potential, and gradually extended to red varieties.

From a health perspective, the grapes are overall in excellent condition, with good ripening levels and well-balanced acidity.

In some areas of Roero and Monferrato there is a very “clean” harvest, the result of careful vineyard work and weather conditions that, except for some exceptions, have remained favorable.

Viticulture in Transition: between Adaptation and Vision

Climate change is a concrete and worrying variable that influences every choice among the rows.

If there’s one point on which Langhe, Roero and Monferrato agree, it’s the need to rethink agricultural work in an adaptive way: from agronomic practices to water resource management, to variety selection.

Extreme vintages are no longer exceptions, but trends that repeat with increasing frequency, and viticulture is called to deal with a new normal.

Strategies are implemented in different ways depending on the territory’s characteristics but what emerges is an increasingly aware viticulture, that accepts the complexity and instability of the present, but doesn’t give up seeking solutions, also because as more than one producer reminded us, the vineyard’s response, if well managed, is still there. And in some cases, it surprises.