Timing the Harvest
The vendange typically occurs between August and October in the Northern Hemisphere, depending on latitude, altitude, grape variety, and vintage conditions. Winemakers monitor sugar levels (measured in Brix or potential alcohol), acidity, pH, and phenolic ripeness through berry sampling. Picking too early yields green, tart wines; too late risks flabby, over-ripe characters or rot.
Manual vs. Mechanical Harvesting
- Hand-picking — essential for steep slopes (Mosel, Côte-Rôtie), whole-cluster fermentation, and sparkling wine where intact bunches matter. Allows selective sorting in the vineyard
- Machine harvesting — vibrating rods shake berries from the vine. Faster, cheaper, and increasingly precise with optical sorters, but impossible on terraced or very old vine sites
- Night harvesting — common in warm climates (Australia, Central Valley) to preserve acidity and aromatics by picking in cool temperatures
Vendange Tardive
Vendange tardive — literally "late harvest" — refers to grapes left on the vine past normal maturity to concentrate sugars. In Alsace, this is a legally defined category producing rich, off-dry to sweet wines from Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Pinot Gris, and Muscat. Late-harvested grapes may also develop botrytis (noble rot), further concentrating flavours and adding honeyed complexity.