The vines of the wine are growing like mad. We have more fruit sets than we have ever seen before and even our neighbors are a bit envious.
But like the title says if you grow wine you will have problems. It has been rather cool and wet which unfortunately encourages mildew and other nasties. So I borrowed my neighbors age old copper “pulverisador” para sulfato. Copper-sulfate is bright blue, even when diluted with water. We have been advised to use “sulfato” and an insecticide (not harmful to well behaved bugs). The effect is that for a while the leaves are blueish or have blue spots. My wife scurries about covering all sorts of plants in my spray-guns way as not all take kindly to the blue stuff. 
It now becomes a up to twice daily occurrence to scan the vines for wilting or affected leaves. The spraying has to be done at least every 15 days but I do want these grapes!!! We are in the Ribeira Sacra and this is a DO, so these grapes are actually valuable as well. If you happen to be here when they are ripe you are welcome to help yourself. If last year is anything to go by they are sweet and we do have red and white.
Always wanted an entrance with wine around it. I may have got more than I bargained for, thus may have to buy a machete as the difference above is just one week.
Well it is a weed, but hey the fruits and what one can do with them make up for quite a lot.
 Expat
