No rain in Spain
Freezing temperatures in December and April and a lack of rain will result in a reduced 2002 harvest for Spain’s Rioja region. Rioja’s regulatory body, the Ccnsejo Regulador de Ia DOG Rioja, predicted the grape harvest would be lower than 2001’s bumper crop of 404,548 tons, but said the vines had remained in good condition.
Others forecast a harvest in excess of 330,693 tons, based in part on an increase of about 7,413 acres in the region’s total production area.
Last year’s big harvest and lower export prices boosted Rioja sales by 37.8% to about $803 million. Volume was more than 5.8 million gallons, the highest for Rioja since 1998
COPYRIGHT 2002 Hiaring Company
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