Harvesting and Processing of Grapes
Harvesting of wine grapes is a very important step of winemaking. Harvesting the grapes is determined by the ripeness of the grapes which is measured by acid, sugar and tannin levels. There are many types when harvesting and processing of grapes such as harvesting, destemming, crushing and fermentation. Each step plays a large role in the winemaking process.
The Harvest Season takes place at diverse times of the year depending on the location. In the Northern Hemisphere in Cyprus, harvesting begins in July while in the Southern Hemisphere harvesting takes place in the early months of the year. The climate is a factor that determines when to harvest due to heat, rain, hail and frost.
Many wineries use the traditional technique of hand picking while other wineries now use Mechanical harvesting. There are many advantages and disadvantages to either way of picking the grapes such as cost, time, and handling.
Fermentation is the next step after harvesting & destemming. Fermentation is the process that turns the grape juice into wine or an alcoholic beverage. There is a primary and secondary fermentation stage that the wine goes through.
Wine to taste:
Riesling – is fresh and delicate with floral aromas.
Barrel Reserve Port- It’s the first port in the world produced naturally…without any brandy. It’s chocolately-rich with with a velvet texture.
Angel Late Harvest Riesling- Messina Hof’s “Angel” is a crisp, sweet dessert wine, perfect with fruit, cheesecake and light, sweet chocolate desserts.
Paulo Port– Naturally fermented using high alcohol tolerant yeast producing smooth and fruity flavors. Our estate vineyard has sandy loam over clay which causes these wonderfully intense flavors and aromas.