26/09/2019
The time for wine has come! This is the moment that the entire wine world has been waiting for all year round: the harvest.
And it’s now that everything is happening. This is the start of the season, the moment when the whole wine-making process begins.
Yes, our winegrowers in Bordeaux and France have worked hard all year long to try to bring out an even better vintage than the previous ones.
But how did these winegrowers decide to sound the grape harvest gong?
Just as patience is the mother of safety, perseverance is the mother of quality, especially in the wine industry.
It is through monitoring and repeated vineyard and wine controls that we manage to get as close as possible to the most suitable day to harvest the precious berries.
To do this, the winegrowers will follow a surgical procedure, which they will reproduce randomly in all the rows of vines.
First step:
Inspect the colour of the seeds and taste. The colour and taste will give the oenological inspector a first idea of the maturity level and sugar and acid concentration of the grape bunch.
Second step:
Maturity control involves first and foremost assessing the sugar and acidity content of the grapes. Thanks to a small machine, called a refractometer, specially designed for this purpose, the winegrower, who will take on the role of oenological examiner, will slide grape juice inside to check its sugar and acidity content.
Third and last step:
Checking the overall external condition of the vine is an essential step in assessing whether or not the time of harvest has come. Size, strength, colour of the berries, everything is carefully studied to determine whether or not the bunches will be able to withstand the next bad weather.
What about our 2019 vintage?
This year, if the white grapes have already passed the exam, the red grapes are on the side…
It is from September 15th, and more precisely on September 24th for Château Vieux Mougnac, that our dear professionals of the wine and vine world began to pick this white grape which will soon be in the glasses of all wine lovers.
With pretty bunches filled with beautiful berries, the Bordeaux winegrowers promised a correct, even good production, both in terms of quality and quantity.
On the other hand, the reds are still waiting… The beautiful raw material for the 2019 red wine will not be harvested until October. And if for the whites, the quantity is acquired, the suspense is at its height for the reds. We can observe more feverish Merlot grapes with berries that are less full of juice but still have healthy vines. The cuvée promises to be rare and of high quality!
In summary….
After 2 complicated years for the wine world, the first signs of the 2019 harvest seem rather reassuring. Even if we have reservations about the quantity that will be produced in red wine, we are sure that the quality will be there for both white and red wine!
There are still some beautiful wine tastings and very interesting wine workshops on the horizon! But in a first step, make way for the 2018 vintage, it will soon be ready for tasting. All to your wine glasses!
