From the beginning of September to mid-October it is high time to harvest the wine grapes in South Tyrol, a work called vintage
Quality is the top priority in the vineyard, and that includes the cultivation of vines. In September and October the grapes in South Tyrol are mature enough to be harvested. They must be picked as quickly as possible in a dry period - if the grapes get wet, they loose sugar and finally rot.
This vintage is done mainly by hand pickers. The ripe grapes - called "Weimer" in South Tyrolean dialect - are cut by hand and can therefore be selected.
Only the ripest grapes are used for high quality wines. Once the grapes have arrived to the wineries, they are pressed by cellar masters and put into huge barrels, such as barrique barrels - that's to say barrels made of oak wood -, for maturing.
