In a previous post we mentioned that grape vines go through the process of vèraison during mid to late summer. Vèraison is one of the most important processes a grape vine goes through during it's annual life cycle. It is when the grapes ripen and go from green to pink, purple, and red. During this time the grapes also sweeten. White grapes also go through this process; however, they turn more transparent instead of turning colors.
Starting in late July (northern hemisphere) or late January (southern hemisphere) the grape vine starts concentrating more on making sweet grapes. Once vèraison starts it takes about 30-70 days for the grapes to reach the point where they're ready to make wine.
Before vèraison the grapes are hard, small, and acidic. They are high in chlorophyll which gives them their green color. They start to transfer their energy into the grapes instead of the vine when vèraison starts. Replacing the chlorophyll with anthocyanins in red grapes, carotenoids in white grapes, sugars, and other nutrients, the vines rapidly grow in size and begin to develop aromas. This is also when the acid levels fall and the sugar levels rise in the grapes until they are perfectly balanced.
Some varieties of grapes a prone to ripening unevenly causing some grapes on the bunch to be ripe and ready to harvest while other grapes on the same bunch are still green. This is called millerandage. This produces wines that smell sweet but taste "green," or unbalanced. Some wines that are made with uneven grapes include Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Malbec, Gewürztraminer, and Zinfandel and are some of the hardest grapes to grow.
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