June 2016 - Symington Family Estates' Blog

Yesterday saw the Symington running team take part in the first edition of the Great Douro Vineyard Run. Formed by members from diverse areas of the company, Symington Family Estates won first place in the team event and saw every member placing highly, with second place in the women’s race going to Mariana Ameixieira, and third in the men’s to Pedro Silva, the team’s invaluable trainer.

IMG_20160619_153339 — The winners of the women’s race (from left to right): Mariana Ameixieira, Tânia Fernandes, Irene Monte

IMG_20160619_153759-2 — The winners of the men’s race (from left to right): Abilio Ribeiro, Joaquim Lopes, Pedro Silva

The event, which was one of the first of its kind in the Douro, saw almost 300 runners compete in a gruelling trail half marathon through some of the most beautiful vineyards of the Douro. From the starting line on the banks of the Douro in Pinhão, the course rose and fell through the vineyards of Quintas Junco, Cavadinha, Terra Feita, Cruzeiro, Noval, Bomfim and finally Roeda, before crossing the finish line on the riverfront in Pinhão.

DSC02134-2 — A view from the top of the final steep descent towards Quinta do Bomfim

The half marathon was also accompanied by a 12km walk, which saw almost 1000 participants take part.

IMG-20160619-WA0017 — The SFE team at the podium

With high temperatures and a total elevation gain of 1000m, the race was not easy, but the determination of the 10-man team from Symington Family Estates, and the support of everyone at Quinta do Bomfim and Quinta da Cavadinha, meant a great overall result. Congratulations to all involved!

In this fifth video of our series ‘A year in the vineyards’ we look at flowering in the vineyards of Quinta dos Malvedos.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhBz0czGVLw?list=PLeMTacVFJO2dnzQlL2fs-6I7hy14sqhrT&w=560&h=315]

Flowering in the Douro vineyards usually occurs around the middle of the month of May, approximately two months after bud-break. This year flowering was up to 10 days later than last year in most of our vineyards, on account of the unusually wet and cool conditions of this spring. After the embryo bunches begin to flower, pollination is triggered almost immediately and is followed by fertilization, resulting in the formation of tiny berries. Fruit set, involving the rapid transformation of the embryo bunches into small clusters of green, pea-like berries, follows on quite swiftly from flowering. The berries gradually expand and ultimately become grapes.

The vine continues with its vegetative growth although at this stage there is a gradual slowing down of the vigour of the growing tips in favour of the developing bunches. Further canopy management is required at about the same time as flowering, namely guiding the shoots upwards through the twin wires of the trellis known as the foliage wires. This entirely manual operation is known as shoot positioning and ensures a good layout of the vine canopy in order to facilitate ongoing operations in the vineyard as well as helping to prevent vine diseases.

Month: June 2016

Victory for Symington Family Estates in the 1st Great Douro Vineyard Run

A Year in the Vineyards – Part 5