MAKANDA (WSIL) -- The days are getting shorter and fall is just over a week away signaling the start of harvest season. Grapes are lining the vines at local vineyards just waiting to be picked.
September marks one of the busiest times of year for local vineyards. It's harvest season, but harvesting the grapes is just the beginning.
"The first thing we do is harvest fruit and we stick it through the crusher destemmer and the press and the point of this is to separate the juice from the rest of the grape," explains Kaleb Wilson, Vineyard Manager at Blue Sky Vineyard.
Once the juice is separated Wilson says a new process begins, fermentation. "The yeast that we add to the grape juice is what converts the sugar to alcohol so in turn, this process is what converts our grape juice into wine."
Wilson says fermentation takes about three weeks and requires constant monitoring. "Speed of fermentation is what's going to allow a lot of the flavor, aroma compounds that we enjoy so much in wine, to retain in the wine throughout that process."
Temperature and timing during the weeks long process are key to making a good wine.
"The entire process from harvesting the fruit to crush and press, fermentation, and then preparation for the bottle typically take about six months time," says Wilson.
has started fermenting some of their white varietals. They say they'll start harvesting the red grapes next week.
