D1 Harvest: Ripeness, Pick Dates, Methods

Question 1

Harvest generally marks the end of:

• Ripening
• Véraison
• Dormancy

Answer 1

Ripening

Question 2

As a general rule, grapes typically ripen ___ days after the beginning of flowering.

Answer 2

100 days

Question 3

What is ‘potential alcohol’?

Answer 3

The amount of alcohol that would be created by fermenting all the sugar in grape must into alcohol.

Question 4

In cool regions, when potential alcohol of ___% - ___% has been reached, grapes can be harvested.

Answer 4

9.5% –11%

Question 5

Deciding when to harvest has shifted from just potential alcohol to include considering what other data points?

Answer 5

• Has the regional climate warmed? (it’s easier to ripen grapes in cooler regions now);
• Better viticulture: enabling the vine to ripen grapes fully;
• Focusing on aromas, flavors, and tannin ripeness which is now considered as or more important than optimum sugar ripeness because it’s easier to adjust sugar, acid, and alcohol than deal with unripe tannins and underripe, herbaceous aromas and flavors.

Question 6

If rain looms right around a grape grower’s pick date, what are the consequences of picking too soon?

Or too late, after the rain?

Answer 6

Too soon: risk picking underripe fruit

Too late: risk diluting juice; risk grapes splitting from bloating, which can lead to rot or crop loss.

Question 7

Most dry still wines are harvested between ___° and ___° Brix.

Answer 7

19° and 25° Brix

Question 8

Grapes harvested between 19° and 25° Brix will convert into ___–___% abv.

Answer 8

11–15% abv

Question 9

What method is used to calculate acid levels?

Answer 9

A titration

Question 10

One of the most important ways a grape grower decides when to harvest is:

Answer 10

Tasting the grapes

Question 11

When establishing a vineyard that will be machine harvested, what are some of the design details necessary to accommodate machinery?

Answer 11

• Even row spacing;
• A turning space at the end of rows;
• Planted on flat land or land with a small, regular gradient.

Question 12

Machine-harvesting has been associated with lower-quality wines in the past.

What are some ways that grape growers are trying to improve wine quality?

Answer 12

Dropping undesirable fruit by hand prior to harvesting by machine;

Using a bow-rod shaking machine (vs. older machines, which beat vines to remove the fruit), which is gentler and can be set to be more selective;

Optical sorting devices;

Rigorous sorting upon arrival in the winery, including removal of MOG (Matter Other than Grapes) and unripe and rotten grapes.

Question 13

What are the advantages to machine harvesting?

Answer 13

1. Faster and cheaper in large vineyards, particularly if the vineyards were designed with this in mind;
2. Avoids issues with lack of labor;
3. Grapes can be harvested at night and kept cool (and therefore in better condition, reducing microbial spoilage and oxidation);
4. Starting white winemaking with cool fruit preserves the intensity of fruit aromas and helps to save on cost of refrigeration;
5. Timing of the harvest can wait until the desired level of ripeness has been met and then carried out quickly.

Question 14

What are the disadvantages of machine harvesting?

Answer 14

1. Less gentle than hand-harvesting;
2. Neither economic nor practical for small-scale vineyards;
3. Unsuitable for grape growers that have several different varieties ripening at different times in the same plot;
4. Unsuitable for vineyards on steep slopes or with limited access;
5. The quality of the work is only as good as the skills of the operator;
6. Competition for the machine rental if the winery doesn’t own its own harvester;
7. Purchasing a harvester is a major investment.

Question 15

What are the advantages of hand harvesting?

Answer 15

1. Pickers can be highly selective at a bunch-by-bunch level and to remove any diseased, under- or extra-ripe fruit at the point of harvest;
2. Pickers can manage steeper slopes, irregular rows and mixed plantings in the same vineyard;
3. Avoid oxidation and microbial spoilage of grapes handled with care and put in small, stackable crates (with a maximum weight of 10–15 kilos).

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of hand harvesting?

Answer 16

1. More expensive than machine-harvesting in medium to large vineyards;
2. Requires the availability of a reliable work force, training and supervision to ensure they work to the required standard;
3. Increased chances of oxidation or microbial spoilage as harvest has to be carried out in daylight hours, so grapes picked at higher temperatures than at night.

Question 17

Name two appellations that require hand harvesting either because of law or terrain.

Answer 17

1. Champagne;
2. Douro Valley.

Question 18

Name two viticultural reasons for hand harvesting.

Answer 18

1. Bush vines (they cannot be machine harvested);
2. Picking for botrytis affected grapes, e.g. Trockenbeerenauslese.