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Actually, the grape harvest in Belmonte de Tajo doesn't start until mid-September, and the grapes are actually cut off during the day.
But in the hot year of 2022 everything is different.
Marta Morate, harvest worker
“It's much more pleasant because of the temperature, because when you get tired, the temperatures also drop.
In the morning, after 10:30 or 11:00 a.m., you can no longer be out here in the field.«
Javier, Harvester
»Night work is much better.
It's not that warm.
There are no beetles on the way.
We like our work much better that way.«
From sunset until two or three in the morning, the harvesters are out and about among the vines.
Winemaker Andres Morate came up with the idea of night shifts, which is also good for the further processing of the grapes.
Andres Morate, winegrower
»The main reason is that people can work in optimal conditions.
There are also advantages for the grapes, because the cooler they are in the cellar, the less we have to lower the temperature to control them.
We all benefit from that.«
Like much of Europe, Spain has endured an extremely hot and dry summer - the worst drought in 1,200 years, according to Nature Geoscience magazine.
A consequence of the drought: forest fires.
Almost 400 fires destroyed around 280,000 hectares of land.
Scorched earth near Valencia.
- this summer was also an extreme challenge for farmers and winegrowers.
Andres Morate is therefore calling for a rethink.
Andres Morate, winegrower
»If we don't practice sustainable and ecological agriculture, in a few years we won't have any farms anymore.
Everything is heavily exploited, and in agriculture, as with most things, either we make it sustainable or there will be no more agriculture in a few years.”
The agricultural turnaround – a long-term project.
Now, however, the winegrowers had to react to the heat and its consequences at short notice - by sleeping during the day and night shifts with headlamps.