The harvest lasts only a few weeks, but it decides the wine for years to come. In Europe it usually runs from late August to late October, in the Southern Hemisphere from February to April.
Choosing the day
Winemakers taste the grapes every day and measure sugar and acidity. An early harvest gives fresh wines with bright acidity and moderate alcohol. A later one adds ripeness, body and strength. Grapes for sparkling wine are picked first; for dessert wines they are sometimes left on the vine until the frosts.
By hand or by machine
Picking by hand lets the best bunches be selected without damaging the berries, which is how grapes are harvested for fine wines and on steep slopes. Machines are faster and cheaper, and at night they can bring the grapes in cool, which keeps them fresh.
What comes next
White grapes go straight to the press, red grapes ferment together with their skins, which give the wine its colour and tannins. The first young wines of the new vintage appear as early as November; the rest will age for months and years.
