Harvest: When to Pick
Listen to this lesson
As grapes ripen, sugar rises and acidity falls. Pick too early and the wine is sharp and green. Pick too late and it’s heavy, jammy and high in alcohol. Winemakers taste grapes daily as harvest approaches.
Sugar
Measured in degrees Balling in South Africa. More sugar means more potential alcohol.
Acidity
Keeps wine fresh. Falls quickly in hot weather.
Phenolic ripeness
Ripe seeds, skins and tannins. Winemakers chew seeds to check: brown and nutty is ripe.
🇿🇦 Cape spotlight
Cape harvest usually runs from late January to March. Many farms pick at night or at dawn to bring grapes in cool and fresh.
Hand or machine?
Hand picking allows careful selection of bunches and is used for premium wines. Machine harvesting is faster and cheaper, and can pick at night when it’s cool.
🧠 Quick check: tap to reveal
🤔 What unit is used for grape sugar in South Africa?
Degrees Balling.
🤔 Why do farms pick at night?
To bring grapes in cool, preserving freshness and aroma.
Next up: Crushing, pressing and getting the juice