We love walking through the vineyard and getting to know it.
The 2026 harvest has left us with a crop of contrasts. The heat, the lack of rain, and increasingly earlier harvest dates have once again put winegrowers to the test. And although it's still too early to know what this vintage's wines will be like, we already have some interesting clues.
In Madrid, the 2026 harvest has also broken a record for earliness. And speaking of Madrid wines, this weekend you can't miss the 8th Boadilla del Monte Wine Fair where the Palace of the Infante Don Luis will once again be filled with wineries, glasses and wine lovers.
But let's take it one step at a time, because this 2026 harvest has quite a story to tell.
Every year, when the grape harvest arrives, it seems that we are all focused on the same question: has it been a good harvest?
And almost always the answer is the same: it depends.
Because quantity is not the same as quality, and a vineyard in Castilla-La Mancha has not experienced the same year as one in Galicia or Madrid.
According to estimates published by Wine Week By early October, Spain could reach a production of around 34.5 million hectoliters of wine and must, approximately 6 % more than in the previous campaign.
However, these are provisional figures and the situation varies greatly between regions and wineries.
The weather has once again been one of the main factors in the 2026 grape harvest. Temperatures, water availability, and the ripening time of each variety influence the decisions of winegrowers.
The harvest brings the most stressful time in the vineyard, because harvesting is not simply a matter of waiting for the grapes to be sweet.
You have to find the right balance between sugars, acidity, aromas, and grape skin ripeness. And that balance doesn't always come when you want it to.
That's why there are many more decisions behind a bottle of wine than we imagine.
If we look at our vineyards in Madrid, the 2026 harvest has a particularly striking fact.
It began on July 23, the earliest date recorded by the DO Vinos de Madrid.
Yes, July. While many of us were thinking about vacations, some wineries in Madrid were already harvesting grapes.
The first ones were harvested at Bodega Marañones, in the San Martín de Valdeiglesias area.
The heat and lack of rainfall since May accelerated the ripening of the grapes in the four sub-zones of the designation: Arganda, Navalcarnero, San Martín de Valdeiglesias and El Molar.
And although initial forecasts pointed to a more abundant harvest, the summer ended up reducing the size of the berries and, with it, the yield of the vineyards.
According to the Regulatory Council, production could ultimately reach similar levels to last year.
But it's not all bad news.
Initial assessments from Madrid wineries indicate that the grapes are in very good health, with no significant problems with diseases or pests.
Varieties such as Garnacha Tinta, Tempranillo, Malvar or Albillo Real are offering promising results.
Does that mean 2026 will be an extraordinary vintage?
We don't know yet. And be a little wary of anyone who assures you of it prematurely.
Good grapes are a magnificent starting point, but then comes the work in the winery. Fermentations, winemaking processes, aging, and decisions that will ultimately give each wine its own personality.
The interesting thing will be to see, in a few months, how this very particular vintage expresses itself in our glasses.
Nor can we forget that it has been a particularly difficult season for some winegrowers in the Sierra Oeste region, affected by the summer wildfires. All the more reason to appreciate the work behind every bottle.
This is one of those questions that often arise during our tastings.
If it's very hot, will the wine be more alcoholic? Will it have less acidity? Will it be more concentrated?
Well, it can happen, but not always.
Heat can promote a faster accumulation of sugars and a loss of acidity. If water is also scarce, the grapes may be smaller and have a higher proportion of skin to pulp.
But the result depends on many factors: the grape variety, the altitude, the soil, the orientation of the vineyard and, of course, the decisions of those who grow and produce it.
A Garnacha from the Sierra de Gredos doesn't necessarily behave the same as a Tempranillo from a warmer area.
And that's precisely one of the things we love most about wine: who never tells the same story twice. The story that the wines of the 2026 vintage will tell will not be the stories that the wines of the previous year told us.
After talking so much about vineyards, grapes and harvests, it's time to move on to the most fun part: tasting wines.
And this weekend we have a great opportunity without leaving Boadilla.
The days The 8th Boadilla del Monte Wine Fair will be held on October 17th and 18th., on the esplanade of the Palace of the Infante Don Luis.
An event that brings together wineries from different origins, local gastronomy, tastings and live music.
Among the participating wineries we will find Madrid-based projects such as Licinia or Ecológicas Luis Saavedra, along with producers from other Spanish regions.
A great opportunity to discover wines, talk to their producers and, why not, get out of our usual appellations and varieties.
We really like the idea of visiting a winery, asking what's special about its vineyard, discovering an unknown variety, and listening to the person behind that bottle.
In the end, wine is enjoyed much more when we know a little bit about its history.
Tickets can be purchased at the official Boadilla ticket website.
At Entre Cepas we always maintain that you don't need to know everything to enjoy wine.
All you need is the desire to discover, ask questions, and try things without prejudice.
The 2026 harvest reminds us that every year is different, that the countryside doesn't understand calendars, and that behind every wine there are people working with something as unpredictable as nature.
And this weekend's fair offers us the opportunity to put a face to some of those stories.
So, if you happen to be visiting the Palace of the Infante Don Luis, we propose a small challenge: Try at least one wine you don't know. And then you can tell us about it.
A variety you've never heard of, a winery that catches your eye, or a region you don't usually choose.
Who knows? Maybe your next favorite wine is waiting for you to dare to discover it, but we'll still have to wait to talk about and enjoy the wines of the 2026 vintage.
See you there, toasting!
We love walking through the vineyard and getting to know it.
The 2026 harvest has left us
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