Harvesting

Harvesting usually takes place in August to October in the northern hemisphere, and Feburary to March in the southern hemisphere. Harvesting is very weather dependant, and picking the 'right' day to harvest is key to producing a top wine. Unfortunately it can be a game of chance.

Picking the 'right' day

Picking the 'right' day is the most important decision for a winemaker, and is a culmination of many factors. This choice will also be based on the desired style of wine.

Importance of Ripe Grapes

How ripe the grapes are is very important, and to produce a high quality wine means getting it right! Although ripeness can be corrected for to a certain extent before fermentation, this will degrade the quality of the wine.
Under ripe grapes have little sugar and flavor, as well as being too acidic. They produce a tart and herbacious wine. Over ripe grapes have too little acid, and too much sugar. They produce thin or bland wines, with correction to acidity, the wine will taste of overcooked fruits.

Measuring Sugar Content

Sugar content is used as a main indicator of grape ripeness. It is generally measured on the 'Brix' scale, where one 'Brix' would be one gram of sugar in one hundred grams of juice. Ripe grapes measure approximately 24 Brix. Brix can be measured using either a hydrometer or an optical instrument called a refractometer. The accuracy of these instruments depends upon temperature. This scale is hardly a definitive measure, as grapes from the same variety can be ripe in one vinyard at 25 Brix and ripe at 23 Brix in another.

Looking at the Grapes

Actualy looking at and feeling the grapes is very important to testing their ripeness. A winemaker would typically do this every few days. He will be looking at how well the individual grapes part from the stem, their texture, thair taste, and their seeds. All of these factors will help him gauge ripeness.

Weather

You also need to predict what the weather will be doing. Weather, both in the long and short term can make or break a year. In the long term there needs to be enough sunshine to produce sugar, and enough rain to encourage growth. In the short term, particularly near harvest, rain is important. Rain will dilute the sugar content of the grapes, as such it may be necessary to harvest earlier to avoid heavy rain.

Harvesting Methods

Harvesting the grapes is done as quickly as possible to keep the consistency of the grapes. As soon as grapes are detached from the vine they begin deteriorating almost immidately. Due to this, the grapes are taken to the winery and as quickly as possible. Grapes are harvested either by hand, or by a machine. A machine will use suction to pull the grapes off the vine, however it does cause a certain amount of damage to the vine.

'Bad' Years

You sometimes hear to a year being described as a 'bad' year for a particular country or region. This means that in that year the weather was lousy at the wrong times, and the wines were generally not up to their ususal standards. However remember 'bad' years are generalisations, and there will be variations in weather within a region, as well as the odd winemakers who were lucky enough to get it right!

Return to the Wine Guide Contents
A brief history of Wine | Growing Vines and Grapes | Harvesting | Making Red Wine | Making White Wine | Making Rosé Wine | Making Champagne | To Oak or not to Oak? | From Fermentation to Bottle