Harvest
With the exception of vintages such as 1976, 2003 and 2001, which are particularly early and the harvest begins in August, the half month of late August is usually the quietest time in Burgundy vineyards. In France, even busy winery staff, like everyone, go on vacation at this time. The locals stressed that they were not leaving the vineyards behind, but that it was approaching the harvest season and that no amount of effort would be in vain.
As soon as September begins, preparations for the harvest begin and the winegrowers begin to pay attention to the ripeness of the grapes to determine the best harvest date. In general, the harvest day when the grapes are ripe is usually pushed back 100 days from the middle of flowering, but due to climate change and changes in planting techniques, the grapes are ripe and ready to be harvested after about 90 days. In addition, there is also a claim in France that grapes can be harvested on the 90th day after the lilies bloom, which is said to be very accurate. However, most winegrowers now carry out more scientific ripeness tests to determine when and from which vineyard to start harvesting.
ripe
As the grapes enter the ripening period, the sugar content increases, the acidity decreases, the skin thickens and the color darkens. At this time, the winegrower goes to the vineyard to test the ripeness of the grapes. The harvest time will affect the style of the wine, too early will be too sour, too late and will lack freshness. The main items of the inspection are sugar and acidity, and winemakers usually bring an oil meter to measure sweetness directly in the vineyard. The skins and seeds of the grapes are also objects of observation. Observing the skin of Pinot Noir is mainly to understand the ripeness of the tannins in the skin.
As for the grape seed, it is mainly because it is an important indicator of grape ripeness, although it is not used in winemaking, but the purpose of the vine to produce grapes is to disperse the seed, so when the grape seed is ripe, the grape must also ripen. The health of the grapes is also one of the items to be examined, and if mold spreads badly, early harvesting must be considered.
There are many ways to detect it, and the simplest and sometimes the most practical is to eat grapes directly. Experienced grape growers, take a bite of grape juice to feel the ratio of sour to sweet, and then bite into the grape skin to assess whether the tannins are ripe and the color is not easy to extract, and then see if the grape seeds are brown and separated from each other. Although new technological measuring instruments have become widely used, there are wineries in Burgundy who believe in human tongues and eyes.
Both vintners and larger wineries conduct regular scientific testing of the grapes after they have matured. They sampled each vineyard, with either whole bunches of grapes or only the grains. Grapes harvested from different corners of the same vineyard are weighed and juiced to measure sweetness, acidity, pH value, malic acid and tartaric acid ratio. In Bouchard's estate, for example, the 100-hectare vineyard is divided into more than 200 units, each of which must be sampled and checked three times before harvest, each time with 30 random bunches of grapes. From this, it is possible to calculate the current year's production and the appropriate ripening time, and prepare for future winemaking.
Each AOC/AOP appellation sets a minimum ripeness standard for the grapes in the region, which is usually related to the grade of the vineyard, for example, in the Golden Hill region, the general village level red wine alcohol concentration must be more than 10.5%, that is, the sugar content per liter must exceed 178.5 grams. In the case of first-class vineyards, it must be above 11%, while grand cru vineyards are higher, to reach 11.5%, Chardonnay usually matures faster, so the standard of maturity is higher, and each grade must be 0.5% more than that of red wine, of course, these are only the minimum standards, not the optimal maturity.
In addition to the selection of unripe grapes to maintain a refreshing sour taste, the use of fully ripe grapes is a basic requirement for making good wine. However, different wineries do not necessarily have the same view of ripeness, some people pay attention to the balance of sourness and sweetness, others emphasize the ripening of tannins and the red pigment of red grapes, but others prefer sweet ripe fruit and round taste. In general, Chardonnay does not have the problem of overripeness, although overripe grapes will not be sour, but still retain a charming, sweet and fruity taste. In contrast, Pinot Noir has less room to ripen, and overripe grapes will completely lose their delicious fruitiness and the delicate flavor of Pinot Noir, according to Philippe Pros, winemaker at Bouchard, who is only harvested in ten to twelve days. Neither too much nor too late is not the best choice.
Burgundy, located in a colder climate zone, is an area where sugar is allowed to increase alcohol, provided that the alcohol concentration increased by sugar cannot exceed 2% and the sugar added does not exceed 250 kg per hectare. Because sugar can be added, Burgundy wineries have a little more freedom in the choice of ripeness, and if the situation requires it, they can be harvested a little earlier.
In addition, as long as there is no added sugar, tartaric acid is also allowed in Burgundy to increase the sourness, which also allows winegrowers to postpone the harvest until phenolic substances such as tannins are more mature, without worrying that the sour taste will be too low. Although the addition of sugar or acid gives Burgundy wineries more freedom in harvesting, artificially added sugar or acid does not necessarily guarantee a balanced wine.
In practice, the ripeness of the grapes is only one of the key considerations, as well as the health of the grapes and the weather in the coming days. If there is an imminent rainstorm, or if the grapes are at risk of becoming sick, it is best to harvest them immediately so that all the grapes do not rot. The closer to the harvest season, the less protection the grapes have, because disease prevention agents can no longer be used, and if gray mold is rampant, combined with warm weather and rainfall, the grapes may be quickly destroyed.