Having examined the importance of both terroir and vineyard management in our series on The Art of Winemaking, we now turn to the harvest.

Despite all the care taken in establishing a vineyard, much still depends on the weather experienced during the growth and ripening periods of a given vintage as well as on the decisions made with regard to the harvest date of each block. These factors are crucial in determining the quality, structure and character of the resulting wine.

The Perfect Balance

As each individual grape approaches ripeness, there are a number of processes underway as various reactions take place. With the help of a healthy canopy, sugar levels are rising while acid levels are slowly dropping and the fruit is becoming noticeably sweeter. Sugar levels are important because they determine the potential alcohol of the wine (yeast converts sugar to alcohol and CO2 during primary fermentation). Acid retention is as important as it imparts freshness to the wine and balances the sugar, tannin and alcohol. Click here to read more.