A Delightful December
The Indian vineyard is the most abuzz in December. There are many changes happening unlike elsewhere in the Northern hemisphere, where the vines are sleeping peacefully. The fruit is set, growing in size and it is easy to see the many sweeping changes. The grape bunches are easily visible amongst the green leaves and the berries have just started softening. Red grape varieties are changing colour and all around you can see a mix of purple and green. It is the time to estimate the crop, drop off any excess and start ordering supplies for harvest. If you are planting a new Indian vineyard using grafted plants, this is the time to do it. Planting a new vineyard itself is a long process that requires meticulous planning. I will cover this in my next.
Indian Festive Colours
At around Christmas many of the grapes have already started softening and changing colour. A mix of green, red and purple, the colour of Indian Veraison Santa, is the most common sight in the vineyard. The natural anthocyanin colours are being produced in the berries. Within a span of fifteen days, the entire crop will change into these new robes. White grapes also soften but do not turn light or yellow so soon. The berries are growing in size too. The green leaves are working full time in the mild December heat to build up sugar in the grapes. The growers are now preparing to set up a watch to drive off birds at dawn and dusk. These winged visitors are most active during these two time periods. They enjoy eating the ripening grapes and if unchecked, can easily polish off a big section of the vineyard. Slingshots, nets and sound machines may be used to shoo them away. In many cases shiny cassette tape, rustling paper or plastic bags are also used. The worst affected vineyards are the ones that are scattered and don’t have any adjoining vineyards.
Cool conditions
The cool weather conditions allow the most critically needed slow ripening of the grapes. The mild and slanted southern west sunlight is the highlight of this month. The leaves work assiduously using this soft sunlight to slowly accumulate sugar in the berries. This weather also prevents very little degradation of acid that can occur due to hot weather. The extent of the cool conditions defines how the Indian vintage will turn out. Too much cold results in herbal aromatics and vegetal flavours in the wines while too much heat results in low acid, fuller and mostly unbalanced wines. An optimum 2014 December resulted in an excellent 2015 vintage while a very cold 2007 December resulted in an average 2008.
The weather conditions this December has stayed cool with average day temperatures of around 19 degrees Celsius. This augurs well for the 2019 harvest. So, keeping my fingers crossed for a great vintage, here’s wishing you the best Season’s Greetings and a Wonderful New Year and Vintage 2019