GRAPE HARVEST

We are not in Tuscany, Italy. We are in Austria, to be exact in Duernstein. This is the place where Richard the Lion-hearted was imprisoned but not exactly up there where the castle ruins are. When I get the chance to go there again, I will take a picture and make a lens.

The vinyards in Austria are famous for its fine varieties of grapes.

Autumn is also time to harvest grapes. There are lots of different types of grape vines. I only know red grapes and white grapes. Let me mention a few of some sorts of white grapes: Riesling from Germany, Chardonnay/Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon/Chenin Blanc/Viognier from France. Some of the sorts of the red grapes are : Cabernet Sauvignon/Pinot Noir/Merlot from France, Nebbiolo from Italy and Zinfandel from Italy but mostly grown in the U.S.A. To make Champagne wine, only French wine makers from region of Champagne are allowed to use this term. As far as I know, Champagne is made from white grapes. Other wine makers must name their wine Sparkling wine instead of Champagne.

After the harvest, the grapes will be pressed for its juice. The grape juice once freshly pressed is very sweet. After a few weeks, the grape juice will ferment and change its color, a little bit milky. The taste is still sweet but there is already alcohol in it. After more weeks, it will be sour and most probably, this is when the wine vinegar is being produced.

The juice will be filtered and stored in large oak barrels or casks to ripen into wine. The grapes are harvested in September or October, the wine will be ready next year, like in Summer. We used to have a Wine garden but it does not pay to maintain it. Lots of work involved.

Rose wines are produced mixing red and white wine but the process is very intricate. One should be familiar to wine making process otherwise you can throw the bad wine into the sewer if wine tastes terrible. Some farmers harvest their grapes during winter when the snow has begun to fall. We call it ice wine. Ice wine is very sweet and ideal as an appetizer. This wine is quite expensive. The wine farmers put some nets over the wine stocks to deter the Starlings from feeding on the grape berries.

There are table white grapes and red grapes. These are not juicy but just fleshy so they are not ideal for wine making. You can buy them at the supermarkets near you. Intro photo: from my own, goo2eyes