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poniedziałek, 4 kwietnia 2011

GRAPE HARVESTING - WHAT'S THAT ?



Harvesting grapes to make wine is not only the first step individual grapes make towards the finished bottle, but it is also the busiest time of the year for a winery. Festivals and events focusing around the excitement of the annual grape harvest keep the tradition and anticipation in full bloom.

The individual grape variety, the ripeness factor and the weather factor have the greatest influence on “when” to harvest a cluster of grapes. Primarily it’s the grape’s tannin, acid and sugar content that determines how ripe the grape actually is and they are key components for influencing a wine’s future finesse and strategic presence. The weather has a tremendous impact on how the grapes in a given year will behave in a bottle of wine. For starters, the ideal weather for growing grapes includes a winter that is cool with good moisture. However, once spring hits heavy moisture is “discouraged” and throughout the summer cool nights with temperate days is the goal. During the actual harvest, wineries are praying for dry weather to bring the grapes home.

Wineries want to get the grapes to crush, where the grapes are not “smashed” but “gently split” so that the juice starts to flow, as quickly as possible. Great pains are taken to escalate the process, while keeping the grapes from becoming too warm during the transport from vineyard to the crusher. For example, many grape varietals are cut from the vine in the cool, early morning hours to helps to keep the grapes’ astringency to a minimum.

Then at last - the great day: VINTAGE STARTS. Out go the tractors, the troops of pickers, or maybe the giant harvesting machines, to pluck the results of another year's labour. Handpickers cut the bunches off, then place them in baskets or boxes for collection. Depending on the height of the vines, the work is either back breaking or knee-creasing and, dependingon the time of day, cripplingly cold in the morning mist but happily hot in the afternoon sun.

As the grapes pile-up you are looking at your due reward or just deserts - nature's bounty or nature's revenge
(quote: Oz Clarke, Sainsbury's Book of Wine)

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