The 2023 harvest in Alta Langa began with the picking of Pinot Noir on 17 August, among the vineyards in the provinces of Asti, Cuneo and Alessandria, and is now in full swing, also involving Chardonnay grapes.
As always, the grapes for the Alta Langa are the first to be harvested in Piedmont; the harvest will continue until early September, depending on the different exposures and altitudes.
While the beginning of August was characterised by a significant temperature range between day and night that favoured perfect cluster development, the particularly intense heat of these days is rapidly accelerating the ripening of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes at the various altitudes. Even in the vineyards at higher altitudes, where veraison was not complete in recent weeks, we are now witnessing rapid ripening.
The grapes are healthy and have excellent pigmentation.
There has been a slight drop in quantity, due to the decrease in summer rainfall and some bad weather, in particular the substantial hailstorm that affected the vineyards in the areas between Neviglie, Benevello, Borgomale and Lequio Berria on the afternoon of 6 July.
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President Mariacristina Castelletta says: ‘Ours is a special and growing appellation. We are increasing our membership base and, thanks to the opening of the competition, our vineyard will expand significantly in the coming years.From the consortium point of view, we continue to invest in order to increase and consolidate the value of the Alta Langa DOCG denomination. A classic method sparkling wine that, also due to the rules of its discipline (wines always vintage and with a minimum of 30 months of refinement in the bottle), cannot but be a distinctive and high quality product. The Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes that we are harvesting these days will only become excellent glasses of Alta Langa at the beginning of 2027: this is also why we feel so unique’.