[Information based on DipWSET D1 material]

I have to say that studying oxidative versus reductive winemaking methods has really put into perspective some of the aromas I pick up when tasting. I distinctly remember sitting around a table at work, tasting through wines with my colleagues, and it was quite obvious one of them was off. I knew it smelled, I knew it tasted funny. But I couldn’t tell you why. And then one (industry veteran) piped up to say that this wine had undergone reductive winemaking and the winemaker took it just a tad too far.

Well, studying this bit, I now understand how he came to that conclusion.

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[Information based on DipWSET D1 material]

As much as we like to hear the term “hands-off” vineyard management and winemaking, let’s face it, that will never be 100% true. Vines have a natural tendancy to sprawl and crawl—they don’t know they’re supposed to make balanced wine. And, so, we study canopy management.

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[Information based on DipWSET D1 material]

Rootstocks. Not all vines are planted on rootstocks, but the vast majority of them are. While the original reason for using rootstocks was to prevent agains phylloxera, today there’s a wide range of rootstocks that can influence vine—and grape—characteristics. As mentioned in Dealing with Pests, most rootstocks are hybrids, today bred to take advantage of some useful qualities of both parent species.

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[Information based on DipWSET D1 material]

I covered details in a few of these stages in previous posts (Please see Flowering and Fruit set, and Ripening.), but as I approach my exam in just a few days, I realize it may be helpful to have a consolidated list that covers each stage of a vine’s growth cycle to put those other posts into a broader perspective. Hence, the impetus for this post.

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[Information based on DipWSET D1 material]

Before getting started, make sure to check out my post on Flowering and Fruit Set.

A Brief Overview:

Ripening is the third stage of Grape Development. Starting from the top…

During grape berry formation—the first stage of Grape Development— malic and tartaric acids begin to accumulate, aroma compounds and precursors begin to form (also check out Aromatic Compounds post), tannins start to accumulate. But the grapes themselves are green and quite bitter—very little sugar has accumulated at this point.

Another interesting anecdote is that water flow is quite high during grape berry formation, but too much water and nitrogen (please also see Stuck Fermentation to learn about soil nutrients) can prolong this phase, as it will encourage green growth, not grape growth. So “mild” water stress is the way to go here.

Veraison is considered second stage of Grape Development. This is when grapes begin to change their color, skins become more supple, stretchy. But regarding the grape growth, it actually slows down. This phase is what many viticulturists refer to as a “lag phase.”

Now we can enter the third stage—ripening.

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