After the vineyard’s winter rest period (November to March) during which the vines are pruned,

Grapevines during winter

..the viticultural year begins with the appearance of buds (March, April).

Appearance of buds

The young branches grow very rapidly, from the stage of the opening of the buds to the stage of young branches on which you can already see the future bunches of grapes.

Flowering

This is followed by flowering (June, photo on right), which depends on favorable climactic conditions for good flower development and the avoidance of so-called “coulure” phenomena, which lead to premature dropping of the fruit. The grapes continue to enlarge in size until the stage when they touch each other (July).

Pea-sized grapes

The seeds begin to color; they ripen (July, August), then enter the period of maturation (August, September) during which they fill with sugar and lose their acidity, which is measured by simple analytic tests.

End of the ripening period

The tannins also mature, losing their bitterness and the skin becomes supple; this can be appreciated by tasting the grapes. The balance of these three parameters is used to determine the harvest date, usually around the 15th of September.

Continue > > “From the Vine to the Wine: the harvest”