Today I want to discover to you how we live the harvest in Conzieto, this wonderful time of intense sensations and how my dream as a viticulturist and winemaker gradually comes true with each harvest.
Did you know that the word Harvest is derived from the Latin Vindemia and is made up of Vinum (wine) and demere (to cut)? Therefore Harvest is the action of collecting the grapes from the vine for the production of wines or for the direct consumption of the fruit.
We usually start it at the beginning of September, although logically each year it can vary, week up week down, depending mainly on the weather conditions that have occurred during the year and the maturation of the grape.
The weeks leading up to the harvest are very exciting. The culmination of many months of work is approaching and at the same time you feel the great responsibility of deciding the right moment when the vine is in its best conditions to start harvesting.
If the spring has been very rainy and the summer hot and dry, the vines create expectations of reproduction well above their possibilities. In this case, the previous months we carry out a thinning of clusters that helps those left on the plant to ripen more correctly.
On the other hand, throughout the summer the parameters of sugar, acidity and pH of the grapes are controlled. Initially, these checks are carried out every three or four days until the harvest date approaches, when they are done daily to find the exact day on which they are considered to have reached the necessary balance.
From then on, the activity, both in the vineyards and in the winery, becomes very intense and a very special atmosphere is generated. The bustle of these days and the mixed emotions is not comparable to any other time of the year.
The day begins first thing in the morning with the reddish colors of dawn that timidly give way to the radiant sun as a co-worker for the rest of the day.
Dressed in our hats and scissors, the harvesters distribute the tasks. We begin the harvest by selecting the best clusters in the vineyard itself, where we have more time and clarity to detect and discard clusters that we do not consider optimal, although later in the winery a review is given again in case something could have been overlooked.
The boxes of about 15 to 20 kilos destined for this are filled manually with great care and efficiency to avoid, as far as possible, that the grapes deteriorate. It is always highly gratifying and moving to observe those first boxes filled with the best of the land and the human work that will culminate in the creation of a great wine.
Subsequently, the boxes are moved to the cellar as they are completed, trying to spend as little time as possible, although if the harvest is done manually there is always a little more margin because the skin does not break as the harvesters do.
In any case and as we say, we must try to get the grapes to the fermentation tanks as soon as possible, under the care of expert hands.
The streets of the vineyards are then more alive than ever with the coming and going of the tractors. The noise, the smell and the color are incredible. That characteristic and fascinating charm of this time of year has begun for us.
The clusters eagerly fall onto the belt where we remove any debris that should not enter the fermentation tanks, such as leaves or a cluster in poor condition that has been inadvertently placed in the box.
We work in a very organized way, paying attention to order and cleanliness in the different rooms of the winery.
Immediately after selecting the grapes in the winery, the destemming process begins in the specific machinery for it. It consists of separating the grapes from the woody part of the bunch, since it does not enter the tank or participate in the fermentation.
The next step is the crushing, this is a delicate and important moment where certain nerves grip. The grapes are gently crushed to extract the must, a phase that we are excited about as it is the step prior to transformation into wine.
Finally, the grapes are put to ferment in our stainless steel tanks. The times of stay in these deposits are marked by the fermentation of the grape itself and the destination that this wine will have, young or aged.
Once the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation is finished, the wine makes its way before us in all its splendor, it has become the most precious present.
That is when we introduce it into our wonderful French oak barrels for its aging process, which give the wine characteristic aromas, finesse and elegance, while also allowing it a slow evolution typical of the best wines.
And this is where the most creative and delicate part of the trade resides, since the time dedicated to each wine will depend on the age of the barrel, the structure of the wine itself, the profile you want to give it and the customer’s taste. to which you want it to be directed.
At harvest time not everything is work. As in life itself, in a single day we go from the tension of the premiere to the gratifying relaxation of the subsequent and well-deserved rest.
At the end of each day there are many anecdotes to remember and no one closes their day without a broad smile for the satisfaction of a job well done, while the vineyards and the winery relax from the hustle and bustle that have filled them with life for many hours.
Sometimes it seems incredible to me that dreams have come true. A project that began with the same objective that continues, that of creating authentic wines so that you can live new experiences and enjoy intense moments.
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