Here’s my newest video! We are quickly approaching harvest at Sculpterra as the berries change color from green to purple. The myriad of shades of red, purple, even blue-ish berries look dazzling! It’s an exciting time for me because it means that harvest may be a month or less away now. This process in France is called “Veraison.” Veraison has four parts to it.
1.) Berries soften up, changing from rock hard pebbles to soft with juicy insides
2.) Berries loose high levels of acidity, primary malic acid
3.) These berries become sweet as glucose and fructose is translocated from the leaves to the berries.
4.) Aromas and phenolics are now appearing as flavor components of the grapes.
What triggers Veraison? Well to be honest scientist are unsure. It must be correlated with temperatures, weather, water stress, light and most crop load. The grape seed experience change as well, as it becomes brown in color and becoming ready to plant. Some varietals will be harvest 30 days after the onset of Veraison, like Pinot Noir. Cabernet Sauvignon on the other hand can take 60-75 days till harvest once Veraison is initiated. My next vineyard practice will be to sample the berries, monitoring their level of ripeness as I determine the optimum time of when to harvest.