Wines I'm Making: Harvest 2020--First Test of Grape Ripeness

I took a sample of the Sangiovese grapes today, Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the first check I've done on the ripeness of the grapes this season. They are at 19 brix. I usually like to harvest the grapes for the rosé we make every year at a somewhat higher reading than that (ideally 22 brix) and typically we harvest a little later than this, but I'm worried that the very hot weather we had at the beginning of September (up to 111 degrees!) may have accelerated ripening. I can't find my pH meter, so wasn't able to test the pH level.

Many of the seeds are completely brown, suggesting the berries are ripe even if the sugar is a little low. Do I wait or do I pick soon and chaptalize, if necessary? A little research is in order. I'll have to go back and look at what I've done in the past. It's hard to remember the details from year to year. I need to refresh my memory. 

Wines I'm Making: Harvest 2019—Not Quite Yet

Thinking our backyard grapes might be ready to harvest, I did my first full testing of their ripeness today. A sample from the Cabernet vines showed brix at 23.5, which is very close to ideal (24 brix is where I normally like to pick), but with the pH a bit on the low side (pH 3.34). PH squared x brix = 262, which, according to Jeff Cox's From Vines to Wines (Storey Books, 1999), means they are ready for picking (the goal by this measure is 260 for a red wine), but the seeds in many of the grapes are still a touch green and another week on the vines will be perfect, I suspect. The problem is the raccoons—or whatever it is that steals grapes in the night. Ideal ripeness has to be balanced against potential animal losses. Happily, this year, almost none of the grapes will be lost to mildew, so I feel like waiting another week is the way to go. Thus, harvest 2019 is projected for October 5.

The Sangiovese, from which we normally make rosé (and last year used to make a little sparking wine, even), tested at only 19 brix and a pH of 3.31—on the low side (pH squared x brix = 208, again, within the acceptable range, according to Cox's measure (for whites and rosé 200 is the goal), but I think we can get a little more ripeness). I like to pick the Sangiovese for rosé at 22 brix. Although 19 brix would probably be just right for sparkling wine, I'm not equipped with enough of the right kind of bottles to make the whole Sangiovese harvest into sparkling wine, so I will wait to pick the Sangiovese as well. Today, I will check the integrity of the nets and make sure the electric fence is working and hope the animals are deterred as much as possible....

Wines I'm Making: Grapes Coming Along Nicely (September 3, 2014)

We're probably still several weeks to harvest, but I tested a couple of berries on the vines today, just to see how things were progressing. A single Sangiovese berry measured 21 degrees Brix, a cabernet berry 20 degrees Brix. In a couple of weeks I'll start taking sample berries from clusters all around our little vineyard to get an idea of the average ripeness of the fruit, but above 20 degrees Brix at this date suggests harvest may be on the early side this year. I like to pick the Sangiovese (for making rosé) at about 23 Brix, the Cabernet at 24-25 Brix. Depending on the weather a one degree increase in sweetness can take a week or more. We may be picking toward the end of September rather than in the second week of October, which has been typical. 2014 will be our 11th vintage. Soon I'll bottle the 2013 Cabernet, which will give us ten years of winemaking in bottle. Time for a vertical tasting soon.

Wines I'm Making: Sangiovese Rosé Fermenting, Cabernet Soon to Be Picked (October 9, 2012)

The Sangiovese rosé is fermenting in the living room (I've brought it in from the garage as it was a bit too cool and the activity seemed to have slowed). Today is day three and everything seems to be going well so far. I took a sample of the Cabernet grapes again today. The numbers look good, but I think they will need a little more time. The sample measured 24.2 degrees Brix at a pH of 3.38. That's already quite acceptable in theory, but a fair number of the seeds in the crushed grapes I sampled still looked immature. The rule is to pick when the grapes are physiologically mature (and at their most flavorful) rather than going strictly by the sugar and acid levels. a pH of 3.38 is still on the low side for a California Cab and 24.2 degrees Brix is not excessively high. I'll probably wait another week and test again. If rain threatens--serious rain, that is--I'll probably pick to avoid it, but, otherwise, I think the wine will benefit from more time on the vines.

[Update: Tested again on October 15. There wasn't a lot of change. The sample tested at 24.4 degrees Brix and a pH of 3.37-3.38. So the sugars were up slightly and the pH was virtually unchanged--which is not a bad thing. I'd say more of the seeds looked mature than last week, but there are still a few green seeds. Same conclusion: It's probably safe to pick any time now, but there's no hurry either. The weather is supposed to be very hot in the next few days, though. Decisions, decisions. The Sangiovese rosé is now in its ninth day of fermentation.]

Wines I'm making: Grapes Coming Along Nicely (September 23, 2012)

Today I took a decent sample of both the Sangiovese and Cabernet grapes in the garden. The Sangiovese is at 19.6 degrees Brix and a pH of 3.22. Some say the best indicator of ripeness for picking is given by taking the square of the pH and multiplying that by degrees Brix. For the Sangiovese grapes I tested today, that yields a number of 203. A value of 200 is supposed to be ideal for white wines, a value of 260 ideal for red wines. As I'll be making a rosé from the Sangiovese, that doesn't really help, but these are just general guides. From experience I know that the Sangiovese grapes aren't really ripe yet. The seeds are brown and fairly crunchy, but not really mature-looking. I'll be aiming for about 22 degrees Brix (or a little more) and a pH of around 3.4 or so. In that case, pH squared times Brix would be 254, a good number for red wine by the rule of thumb--which is to say that my experience has been that it's best to treat the Sangiovese grapes for rosé as grapes for red wine when it comes to deciding when to pick.

The Cabernet grapes tested at 22.0 degrees Brix. PH was 3.04. PH squared times degrees Brix yields 203 (coincidentally, the same as the Sangiovese). Too early to pick. With the Cabernet, I like to pick at about 24 degrees Brix with the pH at about 3.5. That gives a number of 294 using the rule of thumb, which is nominally on the high side, but most of the books I use for reference in winemaking were written for an East Coast audience and a colder climate--a climate where pH rarely gets as high as it routinely does here, so the number doesn't concern me much. Again, it's just a rule of thumb. This year will be our ninth harvest. I've made the wine enough times by now that I have a feel for what's right. The Cabernet seeds, like the Sangiovese seeds, were brown and moderately crunchy, but, again, not entirely mature. I'm guessing we'll be harvesting in the second week of October, which has been fairly typical. So far, zero losses to raccoons or other critters. The fruit looks great.