DO Rías Baixas estimates that the 2008 harvest is set to yield close to 6,000 kilograms per hectare. Although far removed from the 2006 figure of 9,200 kg/ha, an all-time record harvest, it is still 10 percent more than the last campaign, according to the Regulating Council’s chairman, José Ramón Meiriño.

“We expect a 10 percent increase in estimated average yields in comparison to the 2007 harvest, which yielded a total of 5,355 kg/ha”, Meiriño stated. Consequently, if the whole of the production surface area endorsed by DO Rías Baixas is taken into account, which comes to 3,646.7 hectares; total production for the 2008 campaign will exceed 21 million kilos.

As a result, Regulating Council representatives expect “an optimum quality harvest”, just as long as unforeseen adverse weather conditions do not cause last minute damage to the crops; an occurrence which has already delayed the start of the harvest by a few weeks.