Harvesting is the initial and the critical phase in winemaking. To produce excellent wine, grapes must be harvested at the right time, favorably when ripe. Ripe grapes ensure that they have the proper combination of sugar, acid and moisture. The growers themselves must possess a keen sense of mind of when to pick them from the vineyard. There are two methods that can be employed in harvesting the grapes—either by hand or by machine. However, harvesting grapes by hands is more preferred than the latter method since it assures that only the finest grapes are selected and thus, reach and transferred to the winery. As soon as the grapes have been harvested, they are crushed and pressed to acquire their distinctive flavors. Traditionally, it is done by stomping on the grapes in a large barrel but nowadays, most vineyards use specialized machines to crush and press grapes. Hence, mechanical pressing brought sanitary gain and enhanced the quality and longevity of wine. The liquid and softened grapes ensuing from the pressing process are referred to as must. In this stage, wine will turn into either red or white depending on the winemaker. Red wines are allowed to absorb the color from the skin of the grapes while white wines are produced by separating the skin from the juice of the grapes.
At this instant, the liquid is prepared for fermentation. Grapes on their own can naturally ferment however many winemakers will rather intervene at this stage by protecting the natural must. Once fermentation begins, it normally continues until all of the sugar is magically converted to alcohol and a dry wine is produced. However, sweet wines are purposely removed from the fermentation process prior to retain some of the sugars from transforming to alcohol. This period requires ten days to a month or more.
Once the fermentation ends, the clarification takes place. Clarification is