25 August 2022 | Nature , Drinks
Harvest time has come
We are soon in September, it's harvest time. It is during this period that the winegrowers harvest the grapes from their vines to make their wine production. By hand or by machine, the vendange is generally between the end of August and October, depending on the region.
Old-fashioned harvest
What is called the old-fashioned harvest?
The old-fashioned harvest was the harvest carried out exclusively by hand. The grapes were picked by hand, then, on large and heavy carts, pulled by draft horses, the grapes were transported in retorts to the farmhouse.
Nos ancêtres versaient ensuite leurs cornues dans le fouloir et tournaient une grande manivelle afin d'écraser le raisin.
Then they put planks over the grapes and lowered the press along a screw to let the juice flow.
The juice was then set aside to ferment and let the carbon dioxide escape. Then, the wine was put in barrels and then brought back to the aging rooms.
And finally, we could pull it out and bottle it.
The methods have evolved a lot since ...
Today, a large part of the harvest is carried out with the harvesting machine, in order to carry out all the operations of the harvest: cleaning, carrying and transfer to the skidding bins.
The machine works much faster than a man and has other technical advantages.
Quality wines
For reasons of technical choices, some people will favor harvesting by hand, rather than by machine.
Good to know: Most of the more expensive wines come from manual harvests, as much for technical reasons as for image issues.
Alcohol should be consumed in moderation.
