According to the president of the Regional Wine Commission (CVR) of Dão: “The production year indicates that it is within the normal range with very good quality perspectives. The grapes are very good, they have a good balance between sugar, pH and acidity and, at this point, we have prospects for a quality harvest”, said Arlindo Cunha.

With regard to the amount of wine, the president of CVR Dão told the Lusa that according to forecasts, “it will be an almost normal year”, although they expect an “increase of 20 percent to 25 percent over the year past".

“This does not mean that this increase is exceptional, because last year we had a reduction of around 30 percent, also for meteorological reasons. We will be slightly below what is a normal year”, he said.

Arlindo Cunha explained that, for CVR Dão, “a normal year is a year in which production will be close to 30 million litres and, this year, if everything goes according to plan, it will be close to 25 million” litres of wine .

This is after a spring which was “very rainy and was very conducive to the spread of diseases” and which meant that “producers had to treat the vines several times and this has an impact on production costs”.

The official added that, “although some producers have already started the harvest, it will only be two weeks from now that the harvest will begin throughout the region”.

For now, he explained, "all the producers have already started to see and control the maturation with the necessary data, especially regarding PH and sugar, and the predictable alcohol" so that they can decide the "best time" for the harvest.