It is critical to properly monitor and assess the fruit maturity and characteristics to make the appropriate management, harvest, and winemaking decisions to produce the best quality grapes and wine possible. Previous Timely Viticultures on Crop Development Sampling and Evaluating Samples described how to take a proper sample that best represents the actual ripeness stage of the cultivar in that vineyard. The next step is to set the Harvest Priorities that will optimize fruit quality and allow you the opportunity to make the best possible wine and then evaluate your sample and time your harvest based on that criteria. Since red wine grape harvest can be more challenging, these principals and priorities are more geared to those cultivars where tannin/phenol maturity is critical but will serve for whites also.
Principals to consider
Priorities
Procedure (some of this a repeat of the previous TV on Evaluating Samples)
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Timely Viticulture is designed to give those in the Maryland grape industry a timely reminder on procedures or topics they should be considering in the vineyard. To view other topics you can go to the Timely Viticulture page that is located on the Grapes and Fruit website.