PODERI LUIGI EINAUDI, AN EARLY AND BALANCED 2026 HARVEST

At Poderi Luigi Einaudi, the 2026 harvest began on August 25th with the Dolcetto grape harvest and concluded on October 4th with the last Nebbiolos destined for Barolo production. It was an early vintage, in line with what was already observed in 2023, but characterized by a longer harvest period and a climate that required constant attention and the ability to adapt.

The first few weeks were marked by high temperatures , which led the team to concentrate operations during the cooler hours of the day. Harvesting began early in the morning, progressing progressively from Dolcetto to Nebbiolo, with the goal of preserving the freshness and integrity of the grapes as they were brought to the cellar. With the arrival of September, two significant rainfall events helped restore balance to the season. The water allowed the vines to regain their natural stability and favored the rebalancing of the grapes' key parameters, particularly acidity, pH, and sugars . From that point on, conditions allowed harvesting to continue without the need to move operations forward to the early hours of the morning.

" This was a harvest that required us to carefully observe the grapes' development and adapt our choices to the season's conditions ," says Zvonimir Jurkovic , winemaker at Poderi Luigi Einaudi . " The heat of the first few weeks forced us to work during the cooler hours, while September's rainfall helped naturally rebalance the grapes' parameters. It is precisely in these moments that work in the vineyard and in the cellar must proceed together, with coherent and timely decisions ."

In terms of quality, the yield was very good, and the grapes arrived at the cellar in excellent condition. Fermentation took place immediately, and cellar work focused primarily on temperature control , starting from the moment the grapes arrived. To facilitate a rapid drop in temperature and protect the product from oxygenation, dry ice was used, a choice designed to best preserve the quality of the grapes during the delicate initial phase of winemaking .

2026 thus appears to be a vintage in which the vineyard and the winery played a closely intertwined role. While the weather conditions required particular attention on the agronomic front, harvest management and winemaking decisions allowed us to guide the grapes as consistently as possible, intervening when necessary and allowing their conditions to guide the work.

A balance different from that of other vintages, such as 2016, when the conditions and work in the vineyard had an even more decisive impact on the final result. In 2026, however, the character of the season was defined by a continuous relationship between observation, intervention, and the ability to adapt : a harvest that, from the first Dolcetto harvest to the last Nebbiolos for Barolo, required following different timescales and carefully interpreting each phase.