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09/01/2009
What’s Happening in California’s Vineyards Now
Fall is a special time of year for California’s wine-grape growers, as this is when the long-anticipated harvest gets fully underway.
As the grapes near the end of their growing season, California’s wine-grape growers and winemakers have many crucial decisions to make. They must be sure that the grapes have good flavors as well as the right balance of sugar, acid and pH, a measure of how acidic or basic a substance is, as the levels of each can dramatically influence the flavor and complexity of the resulting wine.
Knowing the precise moment to harvest is the most difficult task this time of year. California growers taste the grapes and test their sugar and acid levels frequently, sometimes even daily, to determine the best time to pluck the ripe grapes from the vine. Many factors influence this delicate balance between sugar and acid, and they can change within a matter of hours. For instance, if there is a heat wave, the warmer temperatures can cause sugar levels to rise too quickly. On the other hand, if it rains too close to harvest time, sugars can drop as grape clusters become diluted. At this time of year, growers are glued to the weather forecast, as well as their vineyards.
Once the flavors as well as the other variables fall into place, harvesting the ripe grapes is done swiftly. Some growers opt for mechanical harvesters, which pick the grapes quickly and are often run at night so that the grapes are nice and cool when they get to the winery. Others prefer hand harvesting where experienced vineyard crews move quickly through the vineyards, selecting perfectly ripe clusters in pristine condition. Whatever the method, once the grapes are transported to the wineries, the winemakers set to work to bring out all of the dimensions and complexities of the grape in the final bottle of wine. Growers turn their attention back to their vineyards, already looking ahead to the next growing season.
Sources: DiscoverCaliforniaWine.com and “The Wine Bible” by Karen MacNeil
Fall is a special time of year for California’s wine-grape growers, as this is when the long-anticipated harvest gets fully underway.
