Now that 2019 is well and truly underway, we caught up with our very own Hervé Joyaux Fabre, International Wine Challenge Red Winemaker of the Year to ask him about the year ahead.

How do you foresee this year in Argentina, do you think anything different is likely?

Like in all “election years” we will see how the Argentine people react to the outcome of the election and the possible changes this will bring. So at the winery we need to stay alert.

Do you have any plans to do anything new?

For the reason mentioned above it is not a year to undertake big investments. However, over the last few years we have undertaken lots of reforms in our wineries and improved our technology which has allowed us to optimize the quality of our wines.

How are the vines looking?

The vines look very well, with not too much production per plant and the vines are all in a very good sanitary state.

How has this vintage been so far?

2019 looks good so far, we are a week behind in maturity compared to 2018 which is positive because we have not had extreme heat in January.  So, we don’t have too much production per plant and the fruit is looking to be of great quality.

Are any of the grape varieties looking particularly strong at this point?

Our Chardonnay. We plan to start harvesting in 15 days time.

Any predictions for the year in general?

As like all producers we remain worried about Brexit and we are carefully watching the issues which could complicate business in the UK, especially for our wines. I think this might be our biggest worry in 2019, but we are doing our best to remain positive.