The grape harvest in the Marco de Jerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cádiz, has begun strongly and already totals more than seven million kilos of grapes in the first days of the campaign. These are still very preliminary figures, as only six wineries in the area are currently operational, four of them located in the Jerez payments.
For the 2026 campaign, the Regulatory Council of the Marco de Jerez contemplates a "normal" scenario with a projected production of 55 million kilos of grapes, a volume clearly higher than that of 2025, when only 34.5 million were reached. That was an "atypical" year in the words of the president of the Regulatory Council, César Saldaña, in statements to Europa Press.
For this reason, the assessment of the current grape harvest is very favorable for the sector, which is facing an "ideal" campaign, as Saldaña has described it, emphasizing that the environmental conditions have been "very different" from those of the previous year.
In this regard, he detailed that the vineyards in the province have enjoyed "quite a bit of rain" during the winter and a "rather dry" spring. In addition, the grape growers were already prepared against diseases such as downy mildew, which in 2025 caused a loss of 30% of the harvest.
"There have been practically no diseases, no pests, everything has been very controlled and the grapes also look super healthy and are very beautiful," said the president of the Regulatory Council, highlighting the good health of the fruit.
The forecast is that the grape harvest will extend to all the payments of the Marco starting in mid-August. For now, the collection has begun in the first vineyards of Jerez, El Puerto, and Chipiona, where the initial work is concentrated.
As has happened in other summers, this year the campaign has once again advanced to the month of July. The phenological state of the vineyard and the high temperatures recorded in the last weeks of June and July have led to certain vineyards in the interior reaching the recommended ripening levels earlier to begin the harvest.
However, this situation does not repeat across all the vineyards of the designation of origin, which are still waiting to reach the optimal point of maturity to proceed with the widespread harvest.
According to the data from the Regulatory Council consulted by Europa Press, the four wineries currently active in Jerez have already processed 6.2 million kilos of grapes, with an average graduation of 11.7º Baumé. In Chipiona and El Puerto, where one winery operates in each locality, 773,000 and 9,300 kilos of grapes have been processed so far, respectively.
The agricultural year 2025-26 has concluded with rainfall ""between normal and high for what are the usual levels in the Jerez region, exceeding 650 liters per square meter in almost all the payments of the designation of origin.
The heavy winter rains have not harmed the ripening of the grapes, although they did delay the pruning work, as access to some vineyards became "impracticable" at certain points, as acknowledged by César Saldaña. Nevertheless, he downplayed this setback by describing it as "a minor problem," warning that, had those rains concentrated in spring, "it would have been more serious."