| Sep 10, 2002 |
So far rains take greater toll
on nerves than vines.
The extraordinary rain that has afflicted most of Europe this summer has also
fallen on Greece. We came close to getting caught in a deadly flood in Athens in
July, and nearly lost our rental car in a mudhole in Perea, just outside Thessaloniki.
A number of producers have had to cope with rain both before and during harvest.
Marianna Cosmetatos and Petros Markantonatos of Gentilini on Kefalonia have completed
what they describe as a particularly difficult harvest. Always the optimists, they
write, "I guess we should be thankful as things are a whole lot worse in the
north of Italy and Austria!"
We spoke to Anestis Babatzimopoulos a few days ago. Like many Makedonian producers,
he is accustomed to unpleasant meteorological surprises. He describes his ongoing
harvest as a struggle, but shrugs off the notion that it is so much out of the ordinary.
"We're accustomed to it," he said with a laugh, "we always seem to
get by."
For other producers, the situation may be more serious. We are polling our members
and will report on the vintage as a whole soon. |
