Who, When, What, Where: Harvest
Harvest: the season we hate to love.
You may notice a lot of commotion going on behind our cellar doors because it is Harvest season! Harvest is the season when grapes are harvested and the juice is fermented to produce wine. Let’s break down that sentence on this week’s Sipping on Science and find out what Harvest means to us at Untamed.
Who: Harvest
All vineyards and production wineries go through a harvest season. Although you will mostly see AVAs from the West Coast on our current wine menu, we also work with Texas grapes by providing custom crush services to many local Texas wineries. These wineries typically do not have a wine production space and, therefore, use our help and facilities to make their wine. In addition to our custom crush clients, we also offer a commercial laboratory for the wine industry in which we service wineries throughout Texas, Louisiana, New York, and California.
Who you’ll see in our cellar this year: Dane Sanvido (winemaker for Untamed and others), Benedicte Rhyne (winemaker), Cory Brown (junior winemaker), Mckenzie Sanvido (Lab/occasional cellarhand), James McDonald (cellarhand), and Jermaine Harris (MVP).
When: Harvest
We have one of the longest harvest seasons in the world because we harvest grapes from drastically different climates. Texas grapes begin ripening in July and the harvest season for us ends around Thanksgiving time with the last of our grapes coming from Monterey.
How do we know when the grapes are ripe and ready to be picked? One of the most important steps in this decision is to analyze the grapes for sugar (brix) and acid (pH and titratable acidity). The amount of sugar provides us with the potential alcohol and the acids tested in the grape juice will give us a baseline for the acidity found in the resulting wine. In addition to the chemistry, the winemaker visually inspects the vineyard for bird damage, botrytis, homogeneous ripening, and overall grape health. Lastly, it is important that the winemaker tastes the grape for phenolic ripeness. The ideal time to harvest depends on the varietal, vineyard, and winemaking goal.
What: Harvest
Harvest doesn’t just end in the vineyard, after the grapes are picked, we bring them to Untamed to be processed. White wine grapes are pressed and sent to barrel to start fermentation. Red wines undergo a maceration time, saigneed to make rosé, fermented, and then pressed.
During fermentation, the grape juice first goes through a primary fermentation where yeast metabolizes the sugars to create alcohol. Selected wines also go through a secondary fermentation where malic acid is converted to lactic acid. Find out more about malic and lactic acids here: https://www.untamedwines.com/sipping-on-science-what-acid-where/
Harvest season is an exciting time in our cellar but also very mentally and physically demanding. Be sure to give the cellar crew a high five when you see them, they appreciate the encouragement!
Where: Harvest
The grapes we see at Untamed are sourced from AVAs including the Texas Hill Country, the High Plains, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Coombsville, and Monterey. To learn more about our process and to see it firsthand, book a tasting reservation with us: https://www.untamedwines.com/reservation/
Wish us luck with the harvest! 2024 is looking like a great year for grapes!
