Since the grape harvest season begins in autumn, March and April are the ideal months for exploring the vineyards and conducting tasting tours. The weather is a little cooler, the grapes are ripe and everywhere is bustling with activity.
For a wine lover, being part of a harvest can be a very special experience as it brings you closer to the raw essentials, like the berries and the terroir that give the final product its main characteristics. At this time of year, vineyards are looking their best. Full of leaves changing into Autumn colours and transforming the landscapes into a sea of gold and red.
With over 25 cellar doors in the Pyrenees region, sitting, sipping and savouring both wine and landscape is an easy feat. Perch yourself on the decks of our cellar doors and enjoy the grapes that safely and deliciously made it inside the bottle!
Wine harvest season takes place over 2 months each year (March and April) because different grapes ripen at different rates. Following the warm summer months, our winemakers visit every vineyard to sample, taste and test the fruit to determine the optimal time to start harvesting. Winemakers must consider grape ripeness, sugar, acid, and tannin levels to know when the right time is to pick.
Once the winemakers are happy with the taste of the fruit, a harvester is used to collect the grapes. Some are picked by hand during the day – especially the older, more delicate vines or where the site is too steep for machinery. Once harvested, the grapes are transferred to the winery as soon as possible to best retain the freshness of the fruit. Vintage wines are unique and tricky to master, as the grapes must be harvested when they’re perfectly ripe.
With vintage complete, our winemakers then employ a range of different methods and techniques to turn the fruit into wine, eventually bottling it into the award-winning products you know and love.
We invite you to hit the road and explore the beauty of the vineyards in the Pyrenees. You can view the full list of cellar doors HERE.
