The August full moon gave us this year’s closest supermoon. According to NASA, this full moon was 14% closer and 30% brighter than other full moons of the year.

At Son Alegre, the lunar rhythm is one very important implement for our working the land. We have always observed the lunar calendar and the moon’s phases, just the way our forbears have done when it came to pruning their fruit trees, grafting plums onto almond tree branches, planting new trees, sowing their crop, harvesting their wine, mating their sows, sheep or horses, or even having their own hair cut. One might say that traditionally, the Mallorcan farmers’ lives have been governed by the moon even more than the sun.

Traditionally, the grape harvest is related to the cycles of the moon. For instance, the fortnight between the January New Moon and the January Full Moon is the time to cut the previous year’s vines back and prune them back to the woody-stemmed plant. Our vendimia, the grape harvest, usually starts with the August New Moon. Ever since we started our activities at Son Alegre, we have been guided by the lunar calendar and, so far, we have been rewarded with good results. It may not be perfect every year but it is always true to the land.

We will start harvesting this year’s grapes any day soon. We shall start with two white grape varieties, the Malvasía grape which is characterized by its deep color, distinct aromas and the presence of some residual sugar, as well as the Chardonnay grape, a malleable grape that happily adapts to our Mallorcan soil and in particular the Call Vermell soil, a clay loam formation containing plenty of iron oxide and lime.

We are proud of our work and we are grateful to the moon, to nature in general, to all our many helpers such as indigenous wild flowers and the wildlife on our land. To all of them we are truly indebted.