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From the green harvest to the real one
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The green harvest, picking the unripe grapes
After the spring planting and midway through the summer--when the grapes have gotten bigger and the vines have flowered--the grapes begin to change color, called 'veraison.'
This snipping of the unripe grape bunches from the vines is called the 'green harvest.' This allows the plant to focus its nutrients on the remaining grapes. Leaves are often also pruned at this time to permit more sunlight to reach the rest of the prime grapes and to circulate the air around them to deter rot.
When the grapes reach the ideal sugar ripeness they are ready to pick. But--says Maria Sinskey, culinary director of Robert Sinskey Vineyards--for the best wines the stems and seeds should also be ripe, known as 'phenolic ripeness.' Without this process the wines may remain to vegetal.
Leaving the grapes on the vine until their sugar levels are very high creates fruit-forward, rich wines, usually not meant to accompany a meal. For food/wine pairings grapes should have enough acidity to balance the sugar.
Cool temperatures (preferably the morning) are ideal for picking the grapes, as fermentation begins almost immediately. Hand harvesting is the prefered method but is not as cost efficient and is more time-consuming. This allows the pickers to sort the fruit then and there and is the gentler method. Picking machines are faster and cheaper but not always usable for vines grown on steep cliffs. Says Sinskey, "You'd think all high-end wines were harvested by hand. But some high-quality estates in Bordeaux harvest mechanically and sort later."
Topics: veraison , green harvest
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