The harvest of 2015 was characterized by a cold and rainy winter, accompanied by a number of snowfalls, more cold spells than usual and precipitation in the region of the multi-year average. Spring was delayed and prolonged with a late awakening of the vineyard. Temperatures were comfortable during the day and cold at night.
At the beginning of the summer, the weather was colder than usual and comfortable. During the last ten days of July there was a heat wave with temperatures higher than normal for the season, without cooling down until the middle of September. The effect of the relatively high nighttime temperatures (higher than 20 degrees Celsius), the extreme summer and high nighttime temperatures greatly extended the period between veraison and harvest (low rate of accumulating sugar). Ripening of the color and taste was rapid and enabled a harvest at sugar levels somewhat lower than usual.
The weather during the harvest – for the first time there was a short rainfall (10mm) during the harvest in September, without an apparent effect on the ripening. The average harvest for this year was 700 kg per dunam as opposed to 775 multi-year average (90%).