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What is the grape harvest? Secrets and recommendations to bear in mind

The word "vendimia" comes from the Latin "vindemia", a word formed by 'vihum' (wine) and 'demere' (to cut, to remove), therefore it is the action, the process of harvesting, of removing the grapes to proceed to the elaboration of wine.

Given the importance of the harvest, we have to take care of all the details to ensure a quality wine and the success of our harvest. At Vivanco we know this and that is why We do everything in boxes, plot by plot, terroir by terroir, in order to find the personality of each variety adapted to the best place to produce it and enjoy the product we love so much, wine.

Grape clusters

When is the grape harvest?

Undoubtedly, the choice of date will be fundamental for an optimal harvest, a date that in Spain normally coincides with the months of July to October, while in other countries belonging to the southern hemisphere, it will take place between the months of February and April, although the definitive date will depend on the degree of ripeness of the grapes among other factors as we are going to see below:

  • Thedegree of ripeness of the grapes: this is the amount of sugar and acid in the fruit, so depending on the type of wine we wish to produce, we will estimate the optimum time to harvest them. Normally, the grape ripening period is around 45 days. It is also essential that when the time comes to harvest the grapes, they are in an unbeatable state of health.
  • Geographical area and climatic conditions: although there can be several variations, in general in colder areas the grapes take longer to ripen than in areas where it is warmer; the orientation of the vineyard, the latitude and altitude, the wind, the proximity to the sea, the existence or absence of rainfall, etc. These factors will influence the ripening of the grapes.
  • Type of grape: each grape variety will have its own ripening time, but in general terms we can say that white grapes ripen earlier than red grapes.
  • Type of wine we want to make: depending on the type of wine we want to make, it will have a series of components (acids, sugars, aromatic components) present to a greater or lesser extent, and that is precisely why we have to be very clear about what we want our wine to be like.
  • Logistics: before harvesting the grapes, it is necessary to organise the whole process and have sufficient manpower to carry it out and all the technical materials necessary for it to run smoothly.

Grape_clusters

Types of grape harvest

There are two types of grape harvest:

  1. HAND HARVESTING: this type of harvesting is much more delicate, more careful, more selective, and inevitably more expensive if we take into account the use of manual labour, but it is the most chosen to produce a high quality wine.

The most experienced personnel cut the bunches using a tool known as a 'corquete' or 'garillo', which is a kind of knife with a curved tip, while the rest of the less experienced personnel use scissors to carry out the same function. The cut bunches of grapes are collected in baskets that are transported to a trailer that is then taken to the corresponding winery.

  1. MECHANICAL HARVESTING: much more economical considering that it does not require a lot of personnel to carry it out, as a machine will be in charge of doing it, so it will also be much quicker.

Although these types of harvesting are the most widely used and widespread, there are other lesser known or lesser used practices that we should be aware of, such as staggered harvesting, which consists of harvesting the grapes from a large vineyard at successive times according to the degree of ripeness of the individual bunches. On the other hand, late harvesting, in which the grapes are harvested later to increase the amount of sugar in the grapes and thus produce sweet wines.

Grape_picking

Harvesting the grapes step by step

A quality wine, a real wine, is not only made up of the physical characteristics it possesses, a good wine is also made up of the care and attention with which it is made and for this reason and, as we said at the beginning, we, aware of this, make it plot by plot, terroir by terroir, looking for the personality of each grape to get the best out of them.

- Before harvesting, it will be necessary to pay attention to the grapes, observe their evolution, take samples to check their degree of ripeness, carry out controls to examine their components and their condition, choose the date, at least approximately, for harvesting, etc.

- Harvesting of the grapes; either manually or mechanically as we have seen above.

Once the bunches have been cut, they are placed in baskets or boxes (as in the case of Vivanco), formerly wicker baskets that have been replaced by plastic baskets with a capacity of between 15 and 20 kilos.

- Weighing and control; close to the harvesting area, a series of control points are set up where the collected baskets are weighed and where other tasks can also be carried out, such as palletisation in the lorries that will take the grapes to their corresponding wineries. Weighing, in many DOs, is completed with the reception of the grapes in the winery by passing through a weighing machine, first, when the grapes are loaded (with the grapes), and later, once they have been unloaded.

- Controls in the winery; once the grapes are in the winery, they will be selected on a belt or table where all those that do not meet the minimum quality requirements will be eliminated. In addition, they will be subjected to a graduation control, the result of which will tell us whether or not these grapes are suitable for making wine.

- Destemming; this consists of separating the grapes from the bunch and the leaves.

- Squeezing; this is a more delicate procedure in which the grapes are gently crushed to extract the must. In the past it was known as 'la pisa' and used to be done by barefoot men or men wearing espadrilles. Nowadays the process has been mechanised in most wineries, although there are still small productions where it is still done in this more traditional way.

shovel grapes crushing

To be taken into account...

  • The degree of ripeness of the grapes to be harvested must be homogeneous and of the same variety, discarding damaged bunches or bunches in poor condition.
  • Avoid harvesting during the hottest hours of the day to prevent spontaneous fermentation.
  • Place the harvested bunches in baskets or containers that are not too deep so that they are not crushed.
  • To be quick in transporting the grapes from the vineyard to the winery to improve the quality of the winemaking process.

A good grape harvest is always a success to be celebrated and has been celebrated since ancient times in an attempt to give back to the wine all that it gives us, hence our efforts to produce a quality wine, a wine that can be enjoyed and celebrated. In this respect, during the grape harvesting season we have a programme of special activities available that allows the practice of the grape harvest, tastings from the must to the wine and many other experiences that you can book here.

 

Vivanco
Winery, Foundation, Experiences. Sharing Wine Culture

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Carretera Nacional 232, 26330. Briones - La Rioja. Spain

Winery: +34 941 322 013 / bodega@vivancoculturadevino.es

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Experiences: +34 941 322 323 / experiencias@vivancoculturadevino.es
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