![]() A sudden heat wave could ruin a crop, as can excessive rain or a frost (but that’s not likely here in Northern California in September). In the days and weeks leading up to harvest, they will be watching weather reports very carefully to stay ahead of sudden changes. Our winegrowers must call it as best as they can. Here is another fun harvest fact – the date of harvest is rarely ever the same from one year to the next. Ultimately, winegrowers are seeking a good balance between the sugars, acidity, tannins and flavor compounds. They’ll look at skin thickness, berry texture, seed color and texture and whether the stems have turned from green to brown. They’re checking for what’s referred to as phenolic maturity or physiological ripeness-gauging the intensity and character of flavors and the quality of the tannins. But they’ll also head into the vineyards regularly-sometimes daily-to taste and examine the grapes in the weeks leading up to harvest. The more sugar in the grapes, the higher the potential alcohol level of the wine. Winemakers may test grape juice, from a sampling of grapes across different parcels of a vineyard, in a lab to check pH and Brix (a measurement of sugar) to help them determine how ripe the grapes are. As the berries ripen, they become sweeter, and the sugars, which will be fermented into alcohol, increase. In fact, depending on the variety, region, and wine style, this ripening process can last anywhere from 30 to 70 days after the start of veraison.ĭuring this period, growers closely monitor the development of the grapes. Veraison doesn’t happen at the same time throughout a vineyard, or even for all grapes on a vine or within an individual bunch. As the berries lost their green color, they began to take on the more mature hues we are seeing today in Suisun Vallley vineyards – greenish yellow for the white varieties and red, purple or almost black grapes for red varieties. This is known as veraison, when the fruit hanging on the vines transforms from small, green, hard berries into what we all know as grapes. From the small berries in April came the green grapes that began to change their colors in June and July. Throughout the month of September, guests can travel the Suisun Valley ‘loop’ and visit multiple destinations like Wooden Valley Winery, Vezer Family Vineyard’s Blue Victorian, and G V Cellars to see the grapes coming in from the fields and wine makers working on the crush as you taste.įor our wine makers, the long days of the harvest season are a culmination of months of anticipation. Several of our growers have their production facilities next to their tasting rooms. That process will take all day, only for it all to start over again the next morning. By the time the sun rises in the sky and most wake to begin their day, the grapes are already at the wineries preparing for crush. The night temperatures also keep the sugar composition of the grapes stable. Why harvest in the middle of the night? The temperatures are much cooler at night and cooler fruit means better control over the fermentation process. If you drive in the valley in the morning hours, you may even see the bright lights of the trucks from the roads. ![]() Most will be out in the fields early in the morning, long before sunrise. Over the next several weeks, we will start seeing an influx of workers in our vineyard fields, filling large containers on truck beds full of white and purple grapes to transport to our area wineries. It’s the time of year our grape growers have been waiting for since the first green buds appeared on our dormant Suisun and Green Valley grapevines in March.
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