Let’s say you just picked a ton of grapes in preparation for making wine. Do you know how much wine you’re really going to get?
A ton of grapes usually makes about 60 cases, or 720 bottles, of wine. Since different grape varieties yield different amounts of juice, the word ‘about’ is an important part of this equation. Vineyards also play a role.
Something else to consider…the size of the berry. Why? Small berries have less juice than large berries. So, with small berries there is a correspondingly higher ratio of skins, stalks, and stems to juice. That plays another key role in the amount of wine you’ll eventually get from that ton of grapes.
And how small can grape berries be? It varies by region, soil, and weather to start with. In a top vineyard in a cool climate like Germany’s Mosel region , you might pick a berry the size of a lentil. On the flip side, in the Napa Valley, top cabernet sauvignon grapes are the size of small blueberries.
You also need to know how much juice you’re getting from those grapes. This depends on how firmly the grapes are pressed. Some estates barely press their grapes at all. They allow the juice to free run or flow naturally from the fruit after the skins are broken.
One last fact: a fast California harvest worker can generally pick 2 to 3 tons of grapes a day.
There’s more…but that’s enough for now. Cheers!
