Autumn is upon us and, like every year, the harvest season is approaching . If you are a beginner, here you will find all the advice you are looking for.
Harvesting is the picking of grapes for wine production. Harvesting is never a monotonous activity: each bunch has a different position and requires specific attention.
Any curiosities about the word vendemmia ?
Only we Italians have this term! Neither the French nor the English can boast a specific word that indicates the grape harvest. How do you say vendemmia in English? Wine grapes Harvest (collection of wine grapes) and vendemmiare is harvesting of wine grapes.
When to pick grapes for the harvest
Many people mistakenly believe that the term “ vendemmia ” or the verb “ vendemmiare” refers to both the harvest and the production of grapes. In reality, “vendemmiare” means “to pick grapes”. If the vendemmia refers to the harvest of grapes, the term “ vinification ” refers to the transformation of grapes into wine.
Etymology of the term
From the Latin vindemia, comp. of vinum “wine” and demere “raise”.
The harvest period varies according to the geographical area: here in Italy it falls in autumn, generally in the month of October. In the entire northern hemisphere, the harvest takes place between July and October.
The right time to harvest can be understood by observing the bunches of grapes: the grapes must appear sugary and must have a good ratio between acids and sugars, based on the type of wine you want to produce.
The timing of grape harvest is crucial: it is best to monitor weather conditions such as an impending frost, hail and unusual temperatures. It is possible to anticipate the grape harvest date to avoid particularly difficult conditions or the onset of diseases such as downy mildew or gray mold.
Please note: generally the white grapes are harvested first (because they ripen first) and then the red grapes (or black grapes).
To obtain a better harvest, other factors are checked such as:
- Avoid picking on humid days. Wet grapes can affect the quality of the wine.
- The hottest hours of the day should be avoided as too hot grapes can trigger early fermentation.
- Avoid harvesting early in the morning, when the grapes are still wet with dew.
The grapes, once harvested, must be immediately transported to the cellar to avoid the oxidation of the juice, the action of tyrosinase and laccase, the fermentation or maceration of the harvest.
How to harvest grapes
The harvest is done with:
- hand-picked
- mechanical harvesting (with a grape harvester)
Manual harvesting is active in small wine producing companies or in companies that offer high quality wines and sparkling wines. The reason? Only manual harvesting can guarantee the maximum integrity of each acid.
The machines can carry out the harvest but cannot cross vineyards on unsuitable terrain, in rows that are too narrow… in fact, grape harvesters are only used in large companies.
Typically, manual harvesting is done in groups. A team of “operators” picks the grapes and puts them first in plastic crates (in the past, wicker baskets were used) and then empties the contents into large metal containers placed on the transport trolley.
A crate of grapes, depending on the type, weighs 15 or 30 kg. For the production of Champagne, standard crates of 45 kg are generally used.
Mechanical harvesting with a grape harvester is certainly cheaper. It is used only when the harvest is not selective: in fact, operators can distinguish a good bunch from a bunch that is already on the verge of rotting!
The machines mix the bunches of grapes at various stages of ripeness, and also collect damaged grapes with obvious consequences on the quality of the wine obtained.
How to harvest
To harvest the grapes, the bucket or box used must be full but not too full: the grapes must not be crushed before the time!
Manual harvesting is the best solution: operators can exclude unripe, moldy and damaged bunches.
At the end of the harvest, when the trailer is loaded, the transfer to the cellar is carried out in the shortest possible time. In the cellar, the grapes will be weighed, evaluated (both for the sugar content of the must and for the visual characteristics) and sent to the fermentation barrels.
