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Penedès hit by massive hailstorm
The Penedès wine region in the province of Barcelona was hit with a severe hailstorm last weekend that caused millions of Euros of damage to vineyards within a short period of time.
Hail fell intensely across several regions destroying as much as 70% of grapes which were growing on the vines, across a total areas of around 1,500 hectares.
One user on X (formerly Twitter) reported the intense conditions from Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, a municipality in the comarca of Alt Penedès, on Saturday night.
Així es veia des de Sant Pere de Riudebitlles l’entrada de la tempesta que ha afectat aquí al Alt Penedès a les 20:50h. Es veu descarregant amb força direcció a Sant Quintí de Mediona. Pluja intensa amb calamarsa.@alexmegapc @btveltemps @comandotibidabo @MeteoElpito pic.twitter.com/bf2ZpOvYGa
— Silvia Caro (@carogsilvia) June 1, 2024
Struck hard
Many of the Baix and Alt Penedès areas were hit, but the situation was at its worst in the Santa Margarida i els Monjos municipality, as well as in the Castellet i la Gornal region, in the valley of the Foix river. In addition, the Font-rubí – Sant Martí Sarroca was struck hard by the extreme weather.
According to the local farmers union, losses could be as high as seven thousand tonnes of grapes and overall damage in excess of €5m (£4.25m).
Fortunately, grape growing areas to the east of Penedès weren’t hit as hard.
Drought
It comes as the wider Catalonian area has struggled in recent years with a lack of rain and on-going drought conditions.
Among the wine producers to have been hit by these harsh climatic conditions is Familia Torres. The family-run producer works over approximately 1,300 hectares across the country, but DO Penedès is very much where its operations are centred.
“The Penedès has traditionally been a dry farming area, with rain as the sole water source for viticulture,” explained Mireia Torres, director of innovation and knowledge. “In our region, heavy rains tend to occur during the spring and autumn due to storms coming from the Mediterranean, since those coming from inland arrive weakened. Unfortunately, in recent years, these precipitations from the Mediterranean have not occurred, leading us to this extreme drought.”
It is a worsening situation.
Extreme
“The current drought period began in 2021,” Torres shared. “This is the most extreme drought since historical records have been kept. Since then, every year it has rained less and less. The average historical rainfall in Penedès is 544 millimetres. 2020 was a rainy year with 640 mm (mainly concentrated during spring), but then the drought started: 417 mm in 2021, 373 mm in 2022 and 246 mm in 2023.”
“Penedès is one of the most affected areas in Catalonia,” she continued. “In 2023, annual rainfall in the region was 54% lower than the historical average, and 34% lower than the year before. This has caused a decrease in production and vigour of the vines, but what’s really worrying is that we are starting to see some plants that can’t cope with the lack of water and die.”