Italiano
DeutschFrom Grape to Glass
From Grape to Glass: January: the first new wine is bottled and delivered to the customers.
February: the vines are pruned (from December to February); the first “normal” harvest is when the vines are three years old.
March: (average temperature 8 degrees) the farmer repairs the wooden arbour like trellis and the farmer’s wife prunes the vines and then the ground is shallowly ploughed.
April: (average temperature 12 degrees) during the warm sunrays, the vines begin to “cry”, which means that water is being drawn from the roots to the shoots. If this doesn’t happen, the vine has suffered some kind of damage, either through dryness or cold.
May: (average temperature 17 degrees) the young shoots (“Garzen”) start sprouting.
June: (average temperature 22 degrees) the vines start flowering and the shoots are so long that some of the leaves have to be taken off. The wines of the previous year have reached maturity and are bottled in 7/10 bottles.
July: (average temperature 23 degrees) if the harvest is going to be good, the vines need 1,900 hours of sun per year.
August: (average temperature 20 degrees) the grapes are now the size of hazelnuts and the red grapes start changing colour. There is a danger of damage by storms and hailstones.
September: (average temperature 17 degrees) the harvest is just around the corner and the barrels are cleaned and repaired. The harvest of the white grapes starts at the beginning of September on the lower slopes.
October: (average temperature 13 degrees) the ripe red grapes are now harvested in 2-3 pickings to obtain the best quality. The white grapes are pressed and the juice is caught and fermented whereas the red grapes are crushed until the skins burst, and then fermented with the pulp, skins and seeds. During fermentation the sugar in the grapes is turned into alcohol and the grape juice is turned into wine. It is now time for “Törggelen” the South Tyrolean tradition of tasting the new wine.
November: after fermentation (6-10 days), the wine is pumped into barrels and the pulp is pressed. Grappa is made from this pulp.
December: the wine is fermented in the barrels till the middle of December. Once the yeast has settled and fermentation has finished, the wine is transferred to different barrels. The vines rest from the first frost to the beginning of growth in March.
