The wine grape harvest is in full swing. Originally scheduled to begin tonight, it was pushed forward to last Sunday on the holiday weekend. This was/is the [Gallo] winemaker’s call.

Relying upon art, science, and experience the winemaker determines the mix. There is a factor of timing for processing and capacity at his winery of course, but his primary concern is the sugar content of our Muscat of Alexandria. From sour to sweetness, the longer the grapes remain on the vine the higher their sugar content.  Grapes are sampled weekly by our Gallo representative and even daily when they get close. Our rep is monitoring the sugar which is measured by Brix. We, as growers, are required to produce sweet grapes with a Brix reading of at least 18. Historically we average 21-22 but the winemaker knows what he needs and this year Brix is averaging 19.

Another measure related to harvest timing is Rot. Historically we’ve seen 0% Rot and this year is not an exception. At some point as on-the-vine sugar content peaks the grapes lose their watery content and begin to shrivel (think raisins). Mold sets in so the winery mustn’t dawdle.

A drawback to mechanical harvesting is the inclusion of leaves, sticks, stems, and other MOG (material other than grapes) with the fruit. Some machines are designed or adjusted differently so mileage may vary, but in our experience MOG of .19 to .25 percent has been typical. This year we are seeing a significant increase to .54% This counts against our tonnage yield and will need to be looked at as we do have some control over this aspect.

There have been 24 truck loads counted so far which should be about 37 percent of our harvest yield. We should have our final performance report as harvesting concludes very soon.