This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
With September comes a very special moment in Arzuaga’s vineyards: veraison, that almost magical process that starts in summer and ends with the harvest. The bunches of grapes go from being small, with the berries the size of a pea, to growing and ripening. They leave behind the emerald green colour that shines during June and July to become darker and take on the typical hue of Tempranillo. Our vineyards located in Ribera del Duero have been transformed completely over recent weeks. And here on our blog, we wanted to invite you to come and discover veraison up close, to visit our vines and be able to feel the fact that the grapes are nearly ready to be picked.
If we take a minute to define it, we can say that veraison is the process through which the grapes change colour. The Tempranillo berries slowly lose their intense green shade that comes from the chlorophyll, turning reddish and then purple colours. This colouring is caused by anthocyanins, which provide those reds and blues. Visually, it’s an amazing process since the vines are dotted with different colours that turn dusk at our La Planta estate and in the vineyards surrounding Bodegas Arzuaga into a sight that’s worth seeing first-hand.
Shortly after veraison begins, the grapes will be fully ripe and the harvest will start. But, until then, wine lovers will be dazzled by the veraison process. Because there’s no better plan than letting yourself be guided by our vineyards and discovering how the grapes leave behind the typical acidity of their first stages of ripening to become full of sugar, almost ready to be picked. This is how you’ll be able to discover that veraison affects the skin of the grape, not the flesh. And it’s the skin that gives the colour to the first musts after pressing.
But the transformation of the vineyard doesn’t stop at just the grapes and veraison. At the end of summer, the vine shoots lignify and start to have a woodier look as they await the arrival of autumn. And this whole interesting process is right at your fingertips at Bodegas Arzuaga.
So, we’d like to invite you to come and spend the weekend with us, stay at our hotel, see our vineyards up close and let yourself be guided by the wonderful world of wine just before the harvest.