vendanges guillon painturaud

The harvest period in Charente

This period determines the date of harvest and the ripeness of the grapes to make the wine.
For the independent winegrower, it is the culmination of a year's work. He has pruned throughout the winter, established the vineyard and shaped the vegetation to harvest the best from his vineyard.

The factors to take into consideration during the harvest

The date of the beginning of the harvest is, in certain regions, defined by the ban des vendanges..

Each grape variety is different and ripens more or less early: the terroir, the orientation of the vineyard and the summer climate will all influence the winemaker's choice.

Monitoring the parcels is important. Regularly, bunches of grapes (or parts of bunches) will be picked to check for ripeness. The winegrower will be able to monitor changes in sugar levels and acidity, as well as the grape's ripeness index.

Other parameters can also be monitored. Photosynthesis increases sugar levels while acidity decreases. The balance of these two parameters will be decisive for our Charentais grape varieties.

The refractometer allows to read directly the potential alcohol level of the wine after the fermentation.

Harvest and Pineau des Charentes

For the Pineau des Charentes5 different grape varieties are grown. Each has its own characteristics and brings different characters to our Pineaux des Charentes.

Sémillon, the traditional Sauternes grape variety, is used for our white pineaux. This variety of grape gives them a sweet, liqueur-like flavour. Its sugar concentration is its strong point.

Its weak point is its susceptibility to "noble" rot. It generally ripens earlier than the other grape varieties on the estate.

Merlot and Cabernet Franc, which we use for our pineau rosés, can also be harvested earlier. These grape varieties bring a very fruity side to the products.

The Ugni-Blanc, used for our cognac, is generally harvested later.

Ugni-blanc, a grape variety with good yields

One important factor can affect yields during the grape harvest: disease and insects. Downy mildew is a fungus that can settle on bunches of grapes and damage them. This fungus is attracted by humidity and can significantly affect harvest volumes.

But it's not the only one. Have you heard of phylloxera? This aphid wreaked havoc on the vineyards in the 1870s. The 300,000 hectares of vines in Cognac were reduced to 40,000. The results were alarming.

At the time of the phylloxera crisis, the grape variety used was not yet ugni-blanc but folle blanche. One of the lessons of this crisis was to replant vines, but this time with ugni-blanc: much more resistant and less prone to disease. This variety has proved its worth and has subsequently produced good yields.

The influence of the climate on the harvest

The early harvest has been remarkable for several years now. Global warming has had a major influence on the ripening of the grapes, bringing the harvest date forward significantly. This is undoubtedly the most important challenge facing the wine industry.

Hail and frost in the low seasons are also upstream weather phenomena that can affect harvests. This can destroy the vines and prevent them from developing optimally.

Once the harvest is over and the grape juice has been collected, the vinification process will determine the quality of the wine: the winegrower's work is far from finished. Once the vinification has been completed, the next stage, transforming the wine into eau-de-vie!

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