The first step in wine making proper, is the gathering of the grapes, or “picking,” as it is usually termed in California.

Utensils for Picking.—Knives, scissors, and pruning shears are used to cut the stems, and every one will adopt the tool that he finds most convenient in practice; but if the berries are inclined to drop off, scissors or pruning shears are preferable. Some authors give minute descriptions of receptacles of various sizes and forms in which to gather the grapes, but the practice in that respect usually followed in this State will be found the most convenient. The grapes here are generally picked directly into boxes holding about fifty pounds. The box is provided with an oblong hole at each end near the top, or three or four holes bored with an inch auger, by which the picker can easily move it from vine to vine, and one man can carry it with both hands to the wagon. These boxes are piled on the wagon without emptying, transported to the wine house, and brought back empty, to be filled again.

Number of Pickers necessary—When to Commence.—There ought to be a sufficient number of men employed in picking to fill at least one fermenting vat in a day, in making red wine. If, however, circumstances render this impossible, it would be well to pile up the grapes on a good clean floor, under cover, till sufficient are gathered to fill the tank, and then crush them, and fill the tank in one day. (See Red Wine.) Picking ought to commence as soon as the grapes are of a fair average ripeness, beginning with the earliest and ending with the latest variety. In the chapter on musts, we shall endeavor to indicate the requisite maturity of the grapes, and it will there appear that they may become too ripe by remaining too long on the vine, so that it is very important that a sufficient number of pickers should be employed to finish the gathering as promptly as possible, and before too much sugar is developed. (See Musts.)

When to Gather.—It is of little importance at what time of the day the grapes are picked, whether in the cool of the morning or the heat of mid-day, or whether the dew is on or off, as long as they are ripe. In some countries, however, and in what are known as bad years, the grapes do not arrive at complete maturity, and therefore great care is taken to gather them only in dry weather, and after the dew has disappeared. (See Fermentation— Temperature.) If they are picked during the heat of the day, fermentation will commence sooner than if picked in the cool of the morning; and for this reason, in making white wine from colored grapes, care should be taken to pick and press them when cool, if it is desired that the wine should be free from color; for if the slightest fermentation sets in before pressing, as it is apt to do if the grapes are warm, some of the coloring matter is pretty sure to be extracted from the skins and will discolor the wine.

Successive Gathering.—It is sometimes recommended that the grapes should be gathered as they ripen, by going over a vineyard two or three times, and picking off not only the bunches that are ripe, leaving the green ones, but even picking off separately three or four grapes from each bunch where it is not evenly ripened, and this is the practice that is followed to-day in making the great white wines of France and Germany; but it certainly will not be adopted in this State while labor is as dear, and wine is as cheap as it is at present. Instead, that practice will be followed which is recommended by those writers who advise that the grapes of each variety be left on the vines till they are all fairly ripe, and that they be gathered clean at one picking. Where, however, different varieties are planted in the same vineyard, which ripen at different periods, those only should be picked at the same time which ripen together. Gather the early ones first, and the later ones successively as they ripen, but pick clean. The same rule also applies to grapes of the same variety, but grown on different soils and in different situations, as it is well known that the same variety of vine will ripen its grapes on high land and poor soil, earlier than on low land and rich soil.

Sorting the Grapes.—It will frequently happen, however, that there are some bunches of green grapes, and they should always be thrown aside, if picked with the others. Sometimes, also, there is what is called a second crop, which ripens so much later than the main one that two gatherings are necessary. In that case it would be injurious to the grapes of the earlier crop to leave them on the vine till the complete maturity of those of the second. Careful wine makers, therefore, will find it to their advantage, either to leave the green grapes upon the vines for a second picking, or, if all are picked together, to throw the green ones into a separate receptacle, or to sort them out from the ripe ones before crushing. Those who wish to take extra care will even have the unripe, rotten, and dried berries clipped from the bunches with scissors. These extra precautions are those which are observed in making the great wines of Europe; but they are not suggested here in the expectation that they will be generally followed by the wine makers of California, but rather for the purpose of indicating the best practices to those who may find out that on account of the varieties they cultivate, and of the situation and soil of their vineyards, they too can produce such wines by using the same care.

Requisite Degree of Maturity.—It is insisted by all intelligent writers on the subject, that, with possible exceptions, which will be mentioned, the grapes should not be gathered till they have arrived at a state of complete maturity. Without this, wines from the finest varieties of grapes would not possess that beauty of color, that delicious flavor, that fragrant bouquet, and that alcoholic strength which they possess in so eminent a degree. And if it is so necessary that the grapes of fine varieties should be thoroughly ripe, it is quite as important that those of the poorer varieties should be equally so. For these latter are generally wanting in sugar, and consequently their wines are feeble in strength, and as the sugar increases directly with the degree of maturity of the grape, so the quantity of alcohol in their wines increases accordingly, and thus by ripeness they make up for their natural defects.

Signs of Ripeness.—Complete maturity of the grape is indicated by the concurrence of the following signs:

These are the signs given by several French authors, and are here taken from Prof. Du Breuil, who says, nevertheless, that, under some circumstances the grapes should be gathered before arriving at the state of maturity indicated by these signs, and under other conditions should be gathered even later. He says:

Gathering before Complete Maturity.—1. In certain localities north of the viticultural region the grape hardly ever arrives at the degree of maturity just indicated. Yet the crop must be gathered, or otherwise it would rot on the vines. Under these circumstances, the only thing that can be done is to leave the grapes on the vine as long as they derive any benefit from it.

2. Grapes intended to make sparkling wine should also be gathered before the moment of absolute maturity.

3. In the southern part of France, white grapes intended for the making of dry wines, ought to be picked before reaching the last degree of maturity. Otherwise, in that hot climate, the quantity of sugar in the grape would increase to such an extent that it would be impossible to make a dry wine. This is the practice in making the dry white wines of Lunel, of Coudrieux, of the Hermitage, and of Saint Peray.

4. For all the ordinary red wines of the region inhabited by the olive, if the gathering of the grapes is delayed till the last degree of ripeness, the must will contain more sugar than can be transformed into alcohol by fermentation. The result will be that these wines will undergo a sort of continuous fermentation, which will make its appearance whenever they are moved, and which will soon change into acetic fermentation. The only way to cure this tendency and to render the wines capable of shipment, is to strongly fortify them by the addition of spirits. To prevent this difficulty in the first place, the grapes should be gathered before complete maturity.

Some very respectable authors, whose experience has been confined to the colder wine making regions, tell us that in all cases the grapes should be allowed to remain on the vine as long as they gain in sugar, and that in order to correct the excess that they would thus in many cases acquire, they recommend that the must be reduced by water. (See Watering Musts.)

Gathering after Complete Maturity.—To make sweet wines, the grapes should remain on the vine until they have developed the greatest possible quantity of sugar. For this purpose the grapes are not only allowed to shrivel before gathering, but also artificial means are resorted to, such as twisting the stem, or drying them on straw after picking, and even applying heat to them in various ways. (See Sweet Wines.)

Ripeness according to Required Strength.—If the wine maker will first determine how strong in alcohol he wishes his wines to be, he may anticipate the result approximately by testing from time to time the amount of sugar contained in the grapes, and by gathering them at the period when the sugar in the juice shows that, fermented, it will produce the desired percentage of spirit. This testing is easily performed by the use of the must-scale or the saccharometer; and for information on this subject, the reader is referred to the chapter on musts.