{"id":15914,"date":"2026-10-05T13:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bodegajaviersanz.com\/?p=15914"},"modified":"2026-10-05T13:21:32","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T11:21:32","slug":"2026-harvest-in-la-seca-an-early-vintage-in-rueda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodegajaviersanz.com\/en\/magazine\/2026-harvest-in-la-seca-an-early-vintage-in-rueda\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 harvest in La Seca, an early vintage in Rueda"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When does the harvest take place in Rueda? In the vineyards of Javier Sanz Viticultor the 2026 harvest began on 17 August, an unusually early date driven by a very hot summer, and continued until mid-September, because each plot is picked at the precise moment its grapes reach the balance we look for, so young vines and century-old vines never arrive at the winery at the same time.<\/p>\n<h2>A hot summer that brought the calendar forward<\/h2>\n<p>Sustained heat through July and August accelerated ripening across La Seca, and the team walked the plots every day to measure sugar, acidity and seed ripeness before deciding each picking date. That constant attention allowed the harvest to start with the earliest-ripening varieties without losing the freshness that defines the house style, and then to stagger the rest of the vineyard according to the pace of each soil and each age of vine.<\/p>\n<p>Javier Sanz Cantalapiedra: \u201cStarting on 17 August surprised even us, but this summer\u2019s heat sped up ripening in every plot and meant we had to be in the vineyard every day to choose the right moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Healthy fruit and deliberately low yields<\/h2>\n<p>Fruit health this year has been excellent, with clean bunches and no significant issues, helped by a dry summer that also made a selective harvest easier, so the grapes reached the winery in the same condition in which they were cut. On top of that comes a decision the family maintains year after year, which is to cap yields near 6,000 kilos per hectare, well below what the vineyard could produce, because a vine that carries less fruit concentrates its aromas and structure better and gives a wine with more character.<\/p>\n<h2>Verdejo at the heart of the vintage<\/h2>\n<p>Of the kilos harvested, Verdejo accounted for almost 70%, spread across plots in La Seca that were picked in several passes from late August to 17 September. That spread is deliberate, as it lets each plot be harvested at its peak and then vinified separately, the approach behind wines such as <a href=\"https:\/\/bodegajaviersanz.com\/tienda\/producto\/javier-sanz-viticultor-verdejo\/\">Javier Sanz Verdejo<\/a>, and it explains why the old, low-yielding vines remain the heart of the project.<\/p>\n<h2>Rediscovered varieties and the experimental vineyard<\/h2>\n<p>This was also a vintage for the varieties that make the winery unique. Cenicienta (cinderella), a red grape found only in these vineyards, was picked between 11 and 17 September in its plot in Rueda,&nbsp; that will become <a href=\"https:\/\/bodegajaviersanz.com\/tienda\/producto\/vcolorado\/\">Colorado<\/a>. Bru\u00f1al was harvested on 17 September in Medina del Campo, while the experimental vineyard again provided Prieto Picudo Blanco, Caperucita (little red riding hood), varieties the winery studies to understand how they adapt to the continental climate and what they can express on its stony soils.<\/p>\n<h2>What to expect from the 2026 vintage<\/h2>\n<p>With healthy fruit, fast but carefully managed ripening and restrained yields, the vintage points to concentrated wines with an acidity the team protected by bringing picking forward wherever the heat threatened to reduce it. The first musts are already fermenting, and over the coming months each site will begin to show its personality, although five generations of experience in the vineyards of La Seca suggest a harvest to match the best. To see where these wines are born, explore our <a href=\"https:\/\/bodegajaviersanz.com\/en\/vineyards\/\">vineyards<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 harvest began on 17 August, one of the earliest starts the winery can remember, and ended in mid-September with outstanding fruit health and yields kept low to protect quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"2026 harvest Rueda","_yoast_wpseo_title":"2026 harvest in Rueda, the vintage in La Seca","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The 2026 harvest at Javier Sanz Viticultor began on 17 August in La Seca, with healthy 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