09/17/07 Harvest

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Yes, it is that time of year and wine grape harvest has begun. Today we will spend a little time discussing just what is going on in the vineyards and at the wineries. Well a few months back the wine grapes began changing colors to show they were ripening. This is a process called verasion. Along with verasion comes a heightened sense of anticipation. What will the harvest be like and what in result will be the 2007 vintage? At the winery the anticipation goes along with the frantic bottling of wines from previous vintages, lots of cleaning and making room for the incoming juice. The vineyard managers and winemakers will begin to watch the sugar levels of the grapes closely, in order to determine when to pick. These sugars are measured in what are called brix B-R-I-X. Grapes picked with high acid and low sugars, usually to make sparkling wines, are harvested first. They are followed by white grapes at higher levels of sugar, such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris, then red grapes, and later on in the fall and early winter, if conditions are right, the late harvest and ice wine grapes will be picked. Well I for one am anticipating the spring when we will be able to taste the first whites from the 2007 vintage and right now, it seems as though it is a very long way off. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at Vine to Wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.