"So far, the grapes are very good, with quality, dry, free of diseases, free of rot and, if it doesn't rain during the harvest, or if it doesn't rain a lot, we will have a very good quality year", Arlindo Cunha said.

Speaking to Lusa, the person in charge of the Dão region said that "the ideal" for this month was to have "more or less hot days, between 25 and 30 degrees, and cold nights for the vines to cool off from the heat of the day".

"And, if possible, no rain. But if there is any, let it be just a little bit, which is also okay", he said.

Arlindo Cunha also said that the expectation, in terms of quantity, is to be higher than last year, since in 2018 production was "about 40% lower", that is, for this harvest the producers forecast "to rise approximately the same as the year before".

Also different from the previous year is the harvest period which, this year, will begin up to 15 days later, since it is "practically at the beginning", despite there being "people who have already started harvesting white grapes". But "the harvest really, in force, will start in one to two weeks".

"It wasn't as hot a year as last year, which isn't bad. With the later budburst of the plants, and they have a certain cycle, the vines do not ripen as quickly as they would have done in other circumstances", he justified.

As an example, Arlindo Cunha spoke of his own vineyards in the southern region of the Dão, where "a year ago he was harvesting the whites in late August" and this year, he will only "do it in 15 days".