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What do Provence, Occitania and the Catalan Countries have in common? They are Mediterranean lands and as such, wine is an inseparable part of their culture and gastronomy.
We are in the months of harvest and thanks to the thousands of farmers who work the grapes and cultivate them, we can enjoy excellent wines throughout the year that remind us of our history and our bond with the land where we live.
Vendémiaire was the first month in the French Republican calendar. The month was named after the Occitan word vendemiaire, grape harvester.
Vendémiaire was the first month of the autumn quarter (mois d'automne). It started on the day of the autumnal equinox, which fell between 22 September and 24 September, inclusive. It thus ended between 21 October and 23 October, and was the season of the vintage in the wine districts of northern France. It follows the Sansculottides of the past year and precedes Brumaire.
Like all FRC months Vendémiaire lasted 30 days and was divided into three 10-day weeks, called décades (decades). In accordance with the suggestion of Fabre d'Églantine, each of the days of the republican year was consecrated to some useful object. Thus every day in Vendémiaire had the name of an agricultural or ornamental plant, except the 5th (Quintidi) and 10th day (Decadi) of every decade, which had the name of a domestic animal (Quintidi) or an agricultural tool (Decadi).
The harvesting of wine grapes (vintage) is one of the most crucial steps in the process of wine-making.
The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to produce. The weather can also shape the timetable of harvesting with the threat of heat, rain, hail, and frost which can damage the grapes and bring about various vine diseases. In addition to determining the time of the harvest, winemakers and vineyard owners must also determine whether to use hand pickers or mechanical harvesters.
The harvest season typically falls between August & October in the Northern Hemisphere and February & April in the Southern Hemisphere.
With various climate conditions, grape varieties, and wine styles the harvesting of grapes could happen in every month of the calendar year somewhere in the world.
The majority of the world's wine producing regions lie between the temperate latitudes of 30° and 50° in both hemispheres with regions lying closer to the equator typically harvesting earlier due to their warmer climates. In the Northern Hemisphere, vineyards in Cyprus begin harvesting as early as July.
In California some sparkling wine grapes are harvested in late July to early August at a slightly unripe point to help maintain acidity in the wine. The majority of Northern Hemisphere harvesting occurs in late August to early October with some late harvest wine grapes being harvested throughout the autumn.
In Germany, Austria, the United States and Canada, ice wine grapes can be harvested as late as January. In the Southern Hemisphere harvest can begin as early as January 1 in some of the warmer climate sites in New South Wales, Australia.
The majority of Southern Hemisphere harvesting occurs between the months of February and April with some cool climate sites like Central Otago, New Zealand picking late harvest wine grapes in June.
The question of using mechanical harvesting versus traditional hand picking is a source of contention in the wine industry. Mechanical harvesting of grapes has been one of the major changes in many vineyards in the last third of a century. First introduced commercially in the 1960s, it has been adopted in different wine regions for various economic, labor and winemaking reasons.
In Australia, the reduced work force in the wine industry has made the use of mechanized labour almost a necessity.
A mechanical grape harvester works by beating the vine with rubber sticks to get the vine to drop its fruit onto a conveyor belt that brings the fruit to a holding bin. As technology improves mechanical harvesters have become more sophisticated in distinguishing grape clusters from mud, leaves and other particles. Despite the improvement many harvesters still have difficulties in distinguishing between ripe, healthy grapes and unripe or rotted bunches which must then be sorted out at the winemaking facility. Another disadvantage is the potential of damaging the grape skins which can cause maceration and colouring of the juice that is undesirable in the production of white and sparkling wine. The broken skins also bring the risk of oxidation and a loss of some of the aromatic qualities in the wine.
One of the benefits of mechanical harvesting is the relatively low cost. A harvester is able to run 24 hours a day and pick 80-200 tons of grapes, compared to the 1-2 tons that an experienced human picker could harvest. In hot climates, where picking quickly or in the cool of night is a priority, mechanical harvesting can accomplish these goals very well.
Despite the costs, some wineries prefer the use of human workers to hand-pick grapes. The main advantage is the knowledge and discernment of the worker to pick only healthy bunches and the gentler handling of the grapes. The production of some dessert wine like Sauternes and Trockenbeerenauslese require that individual berries are picked from the botrytized bunches which can only be done by hand. In areas of steep terrain, like in the Mosel, it would be virtually impossible to run a mechanical harvester through the vineyard.
In many wine regions, migrant workers are a sizable composition of the harvest time work force as well as local student and itinerant workers.
More information: France Today
Before the reward there must be labour.
You plant before you harvest.
You sow in tears before you reap joy.
Ralph Ransom
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