Medieval grape harvesting.

The harvesting of wine grapes is one of the most crucial steps in the process of winemaking. In Agriculture, the harvest is the process of Gathering mature crops from the fields Reaping is the cutting of Grain Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice For the Tokyo University supercomputer see Gravity Pipe. GRAPE, or GRA phics P rogramming E nvironment is Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of Wine, starting with selection of the Grapes and ending with bottling the finished wine The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to produce. Ripening is a process in Fruits that causes them to become more Edible. Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. In Computer science, ACID ( Atomicity Consistency Isolation Durability) is a set of properties that guarantee that Database transactions are Tannins are Astringent, bitter plant Polyphenols that either bind and Precipitate or shrink Proteins The astringency from the tannins is what The weather can also shape the timetable of harvesting with the threat of heat, rain, hail, and frost which can damage the grapes and bring about various vine diseases. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. This article is a list of diseases of Grapes ( Vitis spp Bacterial diseases Fungal diseases Melanconium fuligineum In addition to the determining the time of harvest, winemakers and vineyard owners must also determine whether to utilize hand pickers or mechanical harvesters. Mechanized agriculture is the process of using Agricultural machinery to massively increase farm output The harvest season typically falls between August & October in the Northern Hemisphere and February & April in the Southern Hemisphere. Northern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is North of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' Overview February was named after the Latin term februum, which means purification, via the purification ritual Februa held on February 15 in the April holidays and events National Poetry Month - in United States National Sexual Assault Awareness Month - in United Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' With various climate conditions, grape varieties, and wine styles the harvesting of grapes could happen in every month of the calendar year somewhere in the world. This is a list of varieties of cultivated Grapes whether used for Wine, or eating as a Table grape, fresh or dried ( Raisin, currant, sultana In some European wine regions the harvest time is known as vintage. Vintage, in Wine -making is the process of picking Grapes and creating the finished product In the New World it is often referred to as the crush. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. ^[1]

Harvest season

The majority of the world's wine producing regions lie between the temperate latitudes of 30° and 50° in both hemispheres with regions lying closer to the equator typically harvesting earlier due to their warmer climates. This list of wine-producing regions catalogues significant Growing regions where Vineyards are planted Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi ( Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body north or south of the The equator (sometimes referred to colloquially as "the Line") is the intersection of the Earth 's surface with the plane perpendicular to the In the Northern Hemisphere, vineyards in Cyprus begin harvesting as early as July. Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía In California some sparkling wine grapes are harvested in late July to early August at a slightly unripe point to help maintain acidity in the wine. The majority of Northern Hemisphere harvesting occurs in late August to early October with some late harvest wine grapes being harvested throughout the autumn. Late harvest is a term applied to Wines made from Grapes left on the Vine longer than usual In Germany, the U.S. and Canada, ice wine grapes can be harvested as late as January. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ice wine (or icewine, as one word or in German, Eiswein) is a type of Dessert wine produced from Grapes that have been frozen while In the Southern Hemisphere harvest can begin as early as January 1 in some of the warmer climate sites in New South Wales, Australia. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The majority of Southern Hemisphere harvesting occurs between the months of February and April with some cool climate sites like Central Otago, New Zealand picking late harvest wine grapes in June. Administration The Central Otago District Council based in Alexandra controls territorial authority matters while the Otago New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island ^[1]

Ripeness

Clusters of ripe and unripe Pinot noir grapes. Pinot noir ('pino nwar is a red Wine Grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera.

Throughout the history of wine, winemakers would use the sugar and acid levels of the grape as a guide in determining ripeness. The history of Wine spans thousands of years and is closely intertwined with the history of Agriculture, Cuisine, Civilization and Early winemakers would taste the grape to get this gauge but more modern winemaking would use a refractometer to get a measure of the sugar levels in the form °Brix and a titration test (using an indicator such as phenolphthalein) to determine the titratable acidity within the grape. A refractometer is an Optical instrument that is used to determine the Refractive index of a substance Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx is a measurement of the dissolved Sugar -to-water mass ratio of a liquid Titration is a common laboratory method of Quantitative chemical analysis that is used to determine the unknown Concentration of a known Reactant Phenolphthalein is a Chemical compound with the formula C 20 H 14 O 4 (often written as " HIn Titratable acid is a term to describe acids such as Phosphoric acid, Sulfuric acid which are involved in Renal physiology. In recent times there has been more of an emphasis on the "physiological" ripeness of the grape, usually in the form of tannins and other phenolics. In Organic chemistry, phenols, sometimes called phenolics, are a class of Chemical compounds consisting of a Hydroxyl group (- ^[2]

Currently the only way to measure tannin ripeness is by tasting the grape which can take experience and skill to do accurately. Viticulturalists have not yet fully explained the complex processes that go into the ripening of tannins but most believe it begins with the polymerization of small astringent tannins into larger molecules which are perceived by the taste buds as being softer. Viticulture (from the Latin word for Vine) is the Science, production and study of Grapes which deals with the series of In Polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting Monomer Molecules together in a Chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks An astringent (also spelled adstringent) substance is a chemical that tends to shrink or constrict Body tissues usually locally after Topical medicinal Taste buds are small structures on the upper surface of the Tongue, Soft palate, upper Esophagus and Epiglottis that provide information about The use of Wine tasting descriptors allow the taster an opportunity to put into words the Aromas and Flavors that they experience and can be used in assessing ^[3]

Mechanical harvesting

Harvesting Concord grapes

The question of using mechanical harvesting versus traditional hand picking is a source of contention in the wine industry. Concord grapes are a Cultivar derived from the Grape species Vitis labrusca (a Mechanical harvesting of grapes has been one of the major changes in many vineyards in the last third of a century. A vineyard is a Plantation of Grape -bearing Vines grown mainly for Winemaking, but also Raisins Table grapes and non-alcoholic First introduced commercially in the 1960s, it has been adopted in different wine regions for various economic, labor and winemaking reason. In Australia, the reduced work force in the wine industry has made the use of mechanized labor almost a necessity. ^[1]

A mechanical vine harvester works by beating the vine with rubber sticks to get the vine to drop its fruit onto a conveyor belt that brings the fruit to a holding bin. A vine is any plant of Genus Vitis (the Grape plants or by extension any similar climbing or trailing plant As technology improves mechanical harvesters have become more sophisticated in distinguishing grape clusters from mud, leaves and other particles. Despite the improvement many harvesters still have difficulties in distinguishing between ripe, healthy grapes and unripe or rotted bunches which must then be sorted out at the winemaking facility. Another disadvantage is the potential of damaging the grape skins which can cause maceration and coloring of the juice that is undesirable in the production of white and sparkling wine. Maceration is the Winemaking process where the phenolic materials of the grape— Tannins, coloring agents ( Anthocyanins) and flavor compounds— The broken skins also bring the risk of oxidation and a loss of some of the aromatic qualities in the wine. Redox (shorthand for reduction-oxidation reaction describes all Chemical reactions in which atoms have their Oxidation number ( Oxidation state ^[4]

One of the benefits of mechanical harvesting is the relatively low cost of running a harvester that is able to run 24 hours a day and pick 80-200 tons of grapes in contrast to the 1-2 tons that an experienced human picker could do. In hot climates where picking quickly or in the cool of night is a priority, mechanical harvesting can accomplish these goals very well. ^[5]

Hand picking

The steep vineyard slopes of the Moselle are normally harvested by hand.

Despite the costs, some wineries prefer the use of human workers to hand-pick grapes. The main advantage is the knowledge and discernment of the worker to pick only healthy bunches and the gentler handling of the grapes. The production of some dessert wine like Sauternes and Trockenbeerenauslese require that individual berries are picked from the botrytized bunches which can only be done by hand. Dessert wines (or pudding wines BrE) are sweet Wines typically served with Dessert, such as Sauternes and Tokaji Sauternes is a French Dessert wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux. Trockenbeerenauslese (literal meaning "selected harvest of dried berries" is a German language Wine term for an intensely sweet Dessert wine Botrytis cinerea is a Fungus that affects many plant species although its most notable hosts may be Wine Grapes In Viticulture In areas of steep terrain, like in the Mosel, it would be virtually impossible to run a mechanical harvester through the vineyard. The Moselle (Moselle Mosel Musel is a River flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. In many wine regions, migrant workers are a sizable composition of the harvest time work force as well as local student and itinerant workers. The term migrant worker has different official meanings and connotations in different parts of the world the United Nations' definition is very broad essentially including anyone For the word itinerant used to describe electrons from free-electron metals see Jellium. ^[1] Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrowers, has estimated that as of 2007 as many as 70% of the employees in the California wine industry may be immigrants from Mexico. California wine is Wine made in the US state of California. Nearly three-quarters the size of France, California accounts for nearly 90 The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. ^[6]

References