Spanish sherry grape harvest at risk due to mildew blight

The 2016 harvest of one of Spain's most emblematic drinks is under threat as the result of a devastating blight which has affected parts of the south of Spain, El Pais newspaper said Tuesday.

The sherry grape harvest is in serious danger after a warm and wet spring led to an attack of mildew fungus, which has destroyed up to 80 percent of some of the grape crop in some vineyards.

All of the varieties of sherry, which range from the light and dry fino to heavy and sweet cream, are produced in the Jerez wine region in the southwest of the country.

Mildew is always present in the crop of grapes used to make sherry, but a combination of weather factors this year have made it much more prevalent.

The year of 2016 saw a dry winter followed by heavy rain in May and the damp warm weather without the dry winds which are usual in the region allowed the mildew fungus to spread rapidly.

"Many growers had been hoping to make savings and they didn't take the preventive measures against such unusual weather," Francisco Guerrero, the head of a growers' co-operative in Jerez, told El Pais.

Sherry has been undergoing a renaissance in recent years with a marketing campaign which has changed its image from something older people used to drink to that of a modern drink which is ideal as an aperitif. Enditem