The Waiting is the Hardest Part
WHEN TO PICK? That’s the question facing the Pact winemaking team as a summer starts to give way to the slightly cooler, shorter days of fall. Samples are pulled daily; sugar and acidity levels are measured. The vineyard is meticulously divided into blocks, with the realization that grapes in one portion of the vineyard—facing a certain direction at a certain include—will ripen at a different rate than grapes in a different area. It’s a hands-on mouth-open undertaking. Winemaker David Jelinek walks the vineyards constantly, tasting for skin and seed maturity. Part science, part art—all with an eye and a taste for the impending harvest.
Bring on the Night
THE DECISION TO HARVEST begins two to four days out with an eye on the weather—will there be a late-season heat spell, will frost come early, what about rain? All of these issues are factored as our team is assembled and harvest is scheduled, a process that happens at night, ensuring the grapes arrive at the winery cold—and not hot from the sun.
