Veraison is the term used to describe the onset of ripening, going hand in hand with colour change from green to purple in red grapes and a general softening of the grape berry. At this stage the grapes officially end their growth phase and start to ripen, focusing all their energy into the berry clusters. For most of the growing season the berries are hard, green and chock-full of acid, but once veraison begins, sugar accumulation takes off at a rate of knots and the berry starts to taste fruity and sweet. At the same time, acidity decreases as malic acid (the sort of tart acidity that’s found in Granny Smith apples) is degraded.

Phenolics also start to ripen, including colour, tannin and aromatic compounds. Colour change in red grapes is quite obvious as the berries move from green to pink to purple, but colour changes also take place in white grapes, which lose their vivid bright green colouring and become more yellow in hue. Tannins start to lose their bitter green edge and taste riper, softer and more textural; while more fruity aromatics take pride of place in the juice of the berry, pushing aside the greener, more herbaceous phenolics as they, too, start to degrade.

Although softening and colour change can happen over just 24 hours in a single berry, even in the very best conditions, veraison occurs unevenly across clusters, usually taking a week or so for the entire block to turn completely. We generally find that once a vineyard is 80% through veraison we can expect to harvest the fruit in around 6 weeks time. This puts us at an anticipated early March vintage kick-off in the Barossa.

Chomping at the bit!