 Fabric Bordeaux placemat |
Vendanges is the French word for grape harvest.
It takes place traditionally in September but often starts in August and sometimes ends as late as October. The date depends on how ripe the grapes are. This varies from year to year and from region to region. The 2003 heat wave brought the harvest date forward by several weeks in almost every vineyard in France.
The optimal date is dictated by the sugar content and the ripeness of the grape skins. Harvests take several days, or even weeks, depending on the size of the plots. In the Bordeaux vineyards, where several varieties are grown, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are not harvested on the same date, because they don't ripen at exactly the same time. See following
During the vendanges the winding roads down the hillsides are busy with tractors carrying crates of grapes to the presses. If you decide to drive there during this period, be prepared to be patient.
In Jurançon (Pyrenees) and other mountain regions the grapes are let to dry on the vine until October or even November concentrating their sugar (these grapes are known as "passerillés"), and producing strong, sweet ice wine. These make delicious aperitifs.
At Sauternes (Bordeaux), and in Alsace, or the Layon valley (Loire), certain grapes are also harvested late. A small fungus, botrytis cinerea, allows the development of the "noble rot", the origin of a fabulous concentration of flavors and sugar in the grapes. The sweet, strong wines obtained this way (Sauternes, Sélections de Grains Nobles, Côteaux-du-Layon, etc.) are some of the best dessert wines you will ever taste.
Harvesting, manual in the past, is now mostly mechanized nowadays. But the results are not the same in terms of quality, and some regions formally prohibit the use of harvesting machinery: this is the case in Beaujolais and Champagne, for example. Wine tourism during the harvest season is a splendid experience!
It takes place traditionally in September but often starts in August and sometimes ends as late as October. The date depends on how ripe the grapes are. This varies from year to year and from region to region. The 2003 heat wave brought the harvest date forward by several weeks in almost every vineyard in France.
The optimal date is dictated by the sugar content and the ripeness of the grape skins. Harvests take several days, or even weeks, depending on the size of the plots. In the Bordeaux vineyards, where several varieties are grown, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are not harvested on the same date, because they don't ripen at exactly the same time. See following
During the vendanges the winding roads down the hillsides are busy with tractors carrying crates of grapes to the presses. If you decide to drive there during this period, be prepared to be patient.
In Jurançon (Pyrenees) and other mountain regions the grapes are let to dry on the vine until October or even November concentrating their sugar (these grapes are known as "passerillés"), and producing strong, sweet ice wine. These make delicious aperitifs.
At Sauternes (Bordeaux), and in Alsace, or the Layon valley (Loire), certain grapes are also harvested late. A small fungus, botrytis cinerea, allows the development of the "noble rot", the origin of a fabulous concentration of flavors and sugar in the grapes. The sweet, strong wines obtained this way (Sauternes, Sélections de Grains Nobles, Côteaux-du-Layon, etc.) are some of the best dessert wines you will ever taste.
Harvesting, manual in the past, is now mostly mechanized nowadays. But the results are not the same in terms of quality, and some regions formally prohibit the use of harvesting machinery: this is the case in Beaujolais and Champagne, for example. Wine tourism during the harvest season is a splendid experience!
Vendanges is the French word for grape harvest.
It takes place traditionally in September but often starts in August and sometimes ends as late as October. The date depends on how ripe the grapes are. This varies from year to year and from region to region. The 2003 heat wave brought the harvest date forward by several weeks in almost every vineyard in France.
The optimal date is dictated by the sugar content and the ripeness of the grape skins. Harvests take several days, or even weeks, depending on the size of the plots. In the Bordeaux vineyards, where several varieties are grown, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are not harvested on the same date, because they don't ripen at exactly the same time.
During the vendanges the winding roads down the hillsides are busy with tractors carrying crates of grapes to the presses. If you decide to drive there during this period, be prepared to be patient.
In Jurançon (Pyrenees) and other mountain regions the grapes are let to dry on the vine until October or even November concentrating their sugar (these grapes are known as "passerillés"), and producing strong, sweet ice wine. These make delicious aperitifs.
At Sauternes (Bordeaux), and in Alsace, or the Layon valley (Loire), certain grapes are also harvested late. A small fungus, botrytis cinerea, allows the development of the "noble rot", the origin of a fabulous concentration of flavors and sugar in the grapes. The sweet, strong wines obtained this way (Sauternes, Sélections de Grains Nobles, Côteaux-du-Layon, etc.) are some of the best dessert wines you will ever taste.
Harvesting, manual in the past, is now mostly mechanized nowadays. But the results are not the same in terms of quality, and some regions formally prohibit the use of harvesting machinery: this is the case in Beaujolais and Champagne, for example. Wine tourism during the harvest season is a splendid experience!
It takes place traditionally in September but often starts in August and sometimes ends as late as October. The date depends on how ripe the grapes are. This varies from year to year and from region to region. The 2003 heat wave brought the harvest date forward by several weeks in almost every vineyard in France.
The optimal date is dictated by the sugar content and the ripeness of the grape skins. Harvests take several days, or even weeks, depending on the size of the plots. In the Bordeaux vineyards, where several varieties are grown, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are not harvested on the same date, because they don't ripen at exactly the same time.
During the vendanges the winding roads down the hillsides are busy with tractors carrying crates of grapes to the presses. If you decide to drive there during this period, be prepared to be patient.
In Jurançon (Pyrenees) and other mountain regions the grapes are let to dry on the vine until October or even November concentrating their sugar (these grapes are known as "passerillés"), and producing strong, sweet ice wine. These make delicious aperitifs.
At Sauternes (Bordeaux), and in Alsace, or the Layon valley (Loire), certain grapes are also harvested late. A small fungus, botrytis cinerea, allows the development of the "noble rot", the origin of a fabulous concentration of flavors and sugar in the grapes. The sweet, strong wines obtained this way (Sauternes, Sélections de Grains Nobles, Côteaux-du-Layon, etc.) are some of the best dessert wines you will ever taste.
Harvesting, manual in the past, is now mostly mechanized nowadays. But the results are not the same in terms of quality, and some regions formally prohibit the use of harvesting machinery: this is the case in Beaujolais and Champagne, for example. Wine tourism during the harvest season is a splendid experience!
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