Grape harvest is just getting started in the southern part of the state. Early varieties have been harvested for the past week. Most varieties are slightly ahead of normal this year. Fruit quality overall is very good. Many vineyards are still recovering from the winter of 2014 so yields will still be below normal.
With wine grapes, all fruit of a given cultivar is typically harvested from the vineyard or block at a single time to coordinate winery activity and to reduce costs. It is important to plan carefully so that the harvest date coincides with the optimum fruit quality.
Most vineyards have some degree of variability in soil type and drainage, sunlight exposure, wind, insect and disease pest, nutritional status, etc. These variations can result in large differences in fruit ripeness and quality. Fruit from different parts of the block, from adjacent vines, as well as from different parts of the same vine can vary. Much of the variability can be reduced with proper vineyard management, e.g. cluster thinning, shoot thinning, canopy management, etc.
As harvest nears, it is very important to monitor grape chemistry. Growers should sample weekly leading up harvest with a protocol to collect a representative sample of fruit from the entire vineyard. This can be a sample of 200 berries per block collected from vines randomly, but with emphasis on collecting berries from top, middle and bottom of clusters, and from exposed and shaded clusters. Some growers prefer to collect a sample of whole clusters rather than individual berries to capture the variability within clusters. Whatever approach is used, be sure to compare your sampling results to the actual final harvest juice parameters to determine the accuracy of your sampling. Most of the time samples tend to over estimate the level of fruit maturity.
Fruit quality is comprised of several factors, the most important of which are sugars, organic acids, and pH. Other factors such as phenolics, anthocyanins, aroma and flavor compounds can be very important to wine quality as well. And of course, freedom from rots is an important consideration. Unlike some other fruits, grapes do not continue to ripen after harvest. Consequently, it is important to harvest grapes at the peak of quality and with the desired parameters for the intended use.
Wine grape growers should have the ability of measure sugar content (with a refractometer), titratable acidity and pH (with a pH meter and burette). Equipment and supplies to measure these parameters can be purchased for about $500. Each of these factors is important for determining proper harvest time, but none alone can accurately estimate overall fruit quality. It is the balance of sugars, acids and juice pH that is important to the wine maker. And of course, there are the subjective qualities of seed and skin maturity, tannins, anthocyanins, flavors, aromas, etc. The Berry Sensory Analysis method addresses evaluation of these more subjective factors such as skin, pulp and seed maturity. More needs to be done to adapt the method for use with our Midwest varieties, but as a descriptive tool, it can be an excellent way for growers to go beyond the basics of sugar, acid and pH.
Bird pecks, cracks from rain, and bee damage can lead to sour rot and its vinegar spoilage bacteria. The vinegar (acetic acid) leads to high volatile acidity levels in the wine. Growers need to closely monitor for development of sour rot and take measures to reduce the spread by managing fruit flies. Ultimately it may be necessary to develop a strategy to minimize harvest of rotted clusters. A pre-harvest walk through the vineyard block should identify any clusters with sour rot and those lagging in ripeness. In most cases, late clusters will never catch up to the rest, and will only reduce the overall quality of the crop at harvest. Now is a good time to drop any undesirable fruit. Don’t expect your harvest crew to sort as they pick. Go through beforehand and eliminate the guesswork.