Harvesting Grapes: How To Harvest Them For Wine? Collection By Machines And By Hand. When Is It Correct To Collect Raisins And Other Varieties?

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

Hardly anyone will refuse to taste a bunch of ripe grapes. Its juicy berries, filled with the sun, will add energy, enrich the body with the necessary elements. Picking grapes is a responsible business. The further safety of the crop directly depends on the timing of the grapes plucked, in what weather the work was carried out.

What does the cleaning time depend on?

To harvest grapes on time, you need to be guided by different factors. First of all, you should focus on the physical ripening of the berries. It is important to choose the right moment when the grapes are fully ripe and ready for processing or storage. At the same time, the bunches should ripen completely, there should be no green berries left on them.

You can also be guided in another way, starting the collection according to the degree of technical maturation.

The work is carried out within the timeframes specified for each grade. In this case, there is no need to wait for the berries to fully ripen.

Key dates

Harvesting work is carried out depending on the region, as well as the grape variety. Early varieties are usually not used for long-term storage, the first bunches are often consumed fresh.

There are no exact dates for harvesting, since they directly depend on the weather conditions, the region where the grapes grow, the degree of maturity of the brushes and the set of sweetness berries.

Usually, brush cutting begins towards the end of August, especially in the southern regions. In the Krasnodar Territory or in Primorye, you need to focus on air temperature and humidity. Harvesting of crops begins at the end of summer and continues in the fall, until the rainy season begins and night frosts begin. In many regions, August and September are considered the best times to cut bunches.

If the grapes are removed later than the required time, the berries will no longer be as firm. Unripe grapes will turn out to be sour, not picking up sweetness.

How to determine maturity?

An indicator of full maturity is the appearance of the bunches, their taste characteristics.

To determine the maturity of a crop, attention should be paid to a number of factors

• Look at the color of the bunches . The berries of the white variety gradually begin to change color and become transparent. Their shade becomes more sunny, the green tint is lost. In dark varieties, the color of the berries becomes more intense, with a darkened skin. At the same time, it becomes more subtle.
• Make sure the berries can be pulled away from the bunches effortlessly … The seeds should be brown. The stems of the bunches should be covered with a thin bark.

Since the grapes ripen not equally, it should be regularly tasted for ripeness . Each time they will be less sour, the grapes will become juicier and sweeter. It is enough to put a few berries in your mouth and feel how sweet they are, whether the astringency is still preserved. If they are not tart, you can prepare to harvest.

It is advisable to try grapes from several bunches on different branches, this will allow you to find out if the variety is ripe

You should be aware that the grapes will acquire the required color a few weeks before they are fully ripe, so the shade of the bunches is not a guarantee of their ripeness.

External examination and tasting will determine the degree of maturity of the crop … Determining the sugar level is also one of the criteria. To do this, you need to cut off several bunches from different vines and squeeze out the juice. It is advisable to cut off at least 3 kg of the product. After receiving the juice, a sugar test is performed. If the product is to be used for juicing, this level should be within 17%. To obtain dessert wines, this level must be within 22%.

The high activity of birds and wasps will also be a reason for harvesting. After the berries ripen, many insects, as well as birds, begin to visit the vineyard and feast on juicy fruits. Their invasion should not be allowed, otherwise they will spoil the appearance of the bunches, up to the destruction of most of the crop.

Collection methods

Vineyard harvesting can be selective or continuous . Homemade grapes are usually cut selectively, as the berries are fully ripe. Collection is made every 3-4 days. Continuous pruning is done when the crop has reached full maturity. This option is suitable for areas with varieties of the same ripening period.

In large vineyards, this procedure is more laborious and requires a large amount of manpower and the use of technology.

The choice of the method directly depends on the speed of cutting the bunches, storage or processing conditions, as well as on financial capabilities.

Manual

Manual method in large vineyards uses labor … Often, assembly teams consist of 100 people or more. Their job is to cut the bunches, sort them and fold them into containers. Further, from this container, the sorters pour the bunches into buckets, then they are taken out of the row spacings and poured into the vehicle. In the future, the boxes with the harvest are transported by machines.

In the process, collectors select contaminated or diseased bunches, stack them separately and send them for processing.

During operation, a special container is used. These can be buckets, baskets or boxes. They must be rinsed with water and disinfected daily. And you also need to disinfect the tools that are used for pruning.

Manual picking is labor intensive and labor intensive and time consuming. The lengthening of the same terms leads to the loss of the harvest

The use of technology allows you to solve this problem. The vibration-type KVR-1 combine is capable of replacing the work of more than 30 crop pickers.

Mechanical

Mechanized harvesting allows you to harvest quickly. The most suitable time for this is night. This is especially true in countries with hot climates, since with this method you can save on wort cooling. At the same time, it is important that the delivery of the harvest to the cellar takes place quickly in order to prevent squeezing the berries and starting the enzymatic process.

The action of the grape harvester is to shake the vine. Ripe berries, which are not firmly attached to the bunch, simply fall and fall into a special bunker. The advantages of such cleaning include a high collection rate without regard to the weather and other threats.

The disadvantage of this method is that when picked, berries crumple and burst, require immediate processing, which is not always possible . And also during the harvest, in addition to the berries, various insects also come in, which must be removed before processing.

How to pick different varieties correctly?

The grapes for sale in the winery are harvested using machines, while the grapes grown in the country or a small vineyard are harvested by hand

It is recommended to collect the bunches in dry, warm weather. If you cut them in cool weather, the berries will be less sweet. Clusters should not be removed during or immediately after rain, as their skins will become saturated with water and quickly deteriorate.

Bunches are cut with special tools . For these purposes, use pruning shears, scissors or a knife with sharp edges.

For table varieties, it is important to achieve full ripening of the berries, which are judged by taste and appearance. The sugar level for such varieties should not be less than 12-14%. Given the uneven ripening, table grapes are harvested in stages.

It is advisable to prune them in the morning, choosing a dry day for this .… Taking garden shears, ripe bunches are cut and laid out in wooden boxes so that the stalks are on top. It is advisable to put paper on the bottom of the container, or lay out the bottom with grape leaves. After filling the container, it is transferred to the shade.

Commercial varieties grown in large vineyards are usually harvested using machines. In the process of work, the grapes are cut off, which leads to their bursting and loss of presentation. The crops harvested in this way are usually sent to wineries for processing.

Bunches of technical varieties can be removed without waiting for them to fully ripen. At the same time, they are guided by the amount of sugar as a percentage . To obtain a sweet wine, the harvest is harvested at the peak of its ripening. At the same time, it is important to remove the bunches in time, until they are ripe. Wine varieties can be left on the vine for 2-3 months so that the berries pick up more sugar . For jelly, jam or preserves, the berries can be removed until they are fully ripe, since sugar and other components will be added to the composition during processing.

If the crop is used for the preparation of wine drinks, bunches are chosen that are completely ready for processing. It is undesirable to come across unripe or already overripe berries . The area where the grapes grow is of great importance. For residents living in regions with a dry and hot climate, wines for which table varieties were used are more suitable. Its strength will directly depend on the sweetness of the berries. The higher the sugar content of the juice, the stronger the finished product can be . Since for residents living in the southern regions, spirits are not a priority, so they harvest without waiting for the grapes to fully ripen.

Kishmish is a seedless dessert variety cultivated in Russia. Due to the lack of seeds and the strong sweetness of berries, it is ideal for the production of raisins, it can also be used to make delicious juice and wine. Clusters begin to shoot in late summer, early autumn. Some varieties can hang on the vine until October.

In order not to damage the vine, the bunches are cut using a pruner or scissors. Lay them out in one layer, trying not to touch them, this will keep them for a long time.

Kishmish does not always have a marketable appearance due to insufficient density of bunches in some varieties. If handled carelessly, the peel of the berries can be damaged.

Plucked fruits will be stored in the refrigerator for several days . If you want to keep the raisins for a longer period, it is better to process it. It can be used to make sweet raisins, compotes and jams, as well as table dry, dessert or fortified wine.

It is recommended to collect the bunches with gloves, this will not damage the wax coating . It is undesirable to unnecessarily touch the berries, rub them, and even more so wash them.

It is worth knowing that the bunches are not removed from the bush in rainy and damp weather, as well as in the morning, when there is still dew on the berries.