Across the northern hemisphere, grape growers and winemaker like the Cantele family are gearing up for the 2019 harvest.
That’s an artistic shot of Cantele winemaker Gianni Cantele in the vineyards, taken this week.
As grapes reach optimal ripeness, the growers need to be constantly testing sugar and acidity levels. That’s because one of the most crucial moments — indeed, the most important moment — is when they decide to begin picking and which blocks they’ll pick first.
At Cantele, it’s always the Chardonnay that’s harvested first (at least most of it; they leave some in the vineyard for a late-harvest wine they make).
Of course, growers depend on lab analyses of the berries to determine the right moment to begin the harvest.
But more than anything else, they rely on their time in the vineyards. As Gianni will tell you, he can tell when the time is right just by walking through the vines and sampling the fruit.
Stay tuned for updates on Cantele’s 2019 harvest!
