I am thinking of booking a day cruise from Regua to Barca de Alva on October 8th, but I'm thinking some (most?) of the vineyards will have already harvested their grapes by then (?), and as such am thinking that maybe the cruise won't be as pretty as it would be if I did this cruise (some other year) before harvest season so that all the vineyards still have their grapes. Am I right?

The harvest will still be going on, but they don’t cut off the leaves. I don’t think you will see a bunch of grapes from the river anyway, but the leaves will be very pretty.

The colors in fall can be very nice.

Wine harvests for 2022 in the peninsula (Spain and Portugal) are said to be earlier.

We have a house in the vineyards of Bordeaux - I know each wine growing area has different approaches to cultivation but if the leaves are left on then they should be turning to their Autumnal colours in early to mid October - depending on the overnight temperatures. In some areas the smell of grapes is also incredible.

This creates a stunning landscape which seems to have been passed over been the marketing departments of these areas - Autumn is a great time to visit wine growing areas.

That photo of the fall colors makes me want to return in fall. Much prettier than pre-grapes, like these photos I took this past early April:

Wow, VANAARLE,that photo is BEAUTIFUL! Is that from the Douro river?

This thread is really interesting - there is little marketing done about how beautiful these areas are in their Autumn colours. It is a great time to visit and many areas have post harvest festivals.

If you search for iimages of Douro vineyards in fall you can find a lot more.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Douro+vine...ages&ia=images

You won’t see any difference in the vineyards, even if mechanically harvested. They may get a little more beat up, but the average person wouldn’t notice.

We are wine grape growers and really bright colors in the late fall are usually an indication of disease, usually some sort of virus or fungus. We went to France & Italy in early November years ago. DH was pretty excited about seeing all the diseases in the vineyards!

This vineyard was mechanically harvested a few nights ago.

VANAARLE that is beautiful!

SInce the banks of the Duoro have slopes and loose slate that are even steeper and more dangerous than the Mosel I suspect that the green vendarge is not practised and hence the leaves stay on later. Mechanisation is really for the flat lands.

I was wondering where some ideas about the wine industry, especially in the Duoro, in this thread are coming from. Thank you the corrections.
I just wish my visit was also with the colors. Unfortunately that year of my visit the wind and the rain put an end to that display.

I’m getting lost by what is being posted here -

As far as I am aware all grapes are harvested when the acidity / sugar levels reach the required levels , the harvesting is either by hand or mechanical. The mechanical process shakes the vines and the leaves are always left on.

The leaves remain until the dip in temperature ceases photosynthesis and they naturally turn golden / brown as the chlorophyll breaks down. The leaves need to be on the vines for as long as possible for the vines to build up carbohydrates to survive winter. The leaves eventually fall off and the vines become dormant - none of this is symptomatic of disease.

Mechanical harvesting doesn’t cut leaves as the vines system would be destroyed in the process - one of the key jobs in winter, prior to the spring grow, is to prune the vine trails to encourage next years growth in the right areas. This is done by hand.


So tedious following these things round the country roads during the harvest.

British, you are sort of right, but not all grapes are harvested mechanically, many are harvested by hand and to make the picking a d**** sight easier they harvest crew often send in a green or leaf harvest team to remove a lot of leaves, it avoids grapes being missed and I guess influences the flavour a tiny bit. I've seen it done all over the world including Bordeaux and even sometimes where the harvest is mechanical and the grapes are especially valuable $.

Vine system destroyed; no this is not an issue as the new growth in the harvest year will not yet have leaves on them, you are cutting the leaves off the present year's growth. What they do in the early spring is select which of the new (next) year's vines to keep and which to discard.

I wasn’t commenting on the Duoro in particular. Just in general, one wouldn’t notice a huge difference in the vines. The photo of picked vines was out of my bedroom window in California.

Leaf pulling is done to get more sun and air circulation on the grapes. Plus allows for sulfur to adhere and prevent rot.

“I've seen it done all over the world including Bordeaux and even sometimes where the harvest is mechanical and the grapes are especially valuable “

that makes me smile Bilbo.

last year we cycled to Saint Emilion and had a picnic next to Cheval Blanc , we looked at the bunches of grapes and couldn’t help wonder how much each one was worth!

Possibly £20…not sure.

Thanks for the info! And I hope you are enjoying the new home.

panthersmom,
While I haven't taken the quite long boat ride from Régua to Barca de Alva, only from Pinhão to Tua, what I can tell you from experience is that the Douro is even more spectacular AFTER harvest, in October and even until the first week of November. We have usually gone in October but our most recent trip took us to Pinhão the first week of November and the foliage was even more incredibly beautiful. All the locals agreed that after the harvest the scenery is more beautiful still. The slopes just burst with color.

Here are a few photos







The Alto Douro in late October