Insight into the Grape Harvesting Process in Mallorca

September marks the beginning of the small rainy season in the Balearics, bringing a welcome drop in temperatures, and making outdoor living a lot more pleasant and refreshing. It's a time for more sundowners, and perhaps even the first glass of red wine in a long time. While many regions of Spain are just starting their harvest season, here in Mallorca, vineyards have been harvesting since the end of July and many are coming to the end of their harvest now.

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Harvest time has a certain romanticism attached to it, but in reality, it is nothing short of hard work, early morning starts, impromptu decision-making, and stress adaptation. Cutting bunches of grapes and placing them gently in a basket may seem easy (and ‘Instagrammable’), but the work is actually hard, sweaty, dirty, and very tough.

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If you have never harvested before, I highly recommend that you do so. It's an eye-opener to the processes involved during this significant time in a winery. The grape pickers work hard, but there's a lot more activity that goes on that you may not be aware of, so let me describe some of the key processes:

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• Picking

To avoid heat and dehydration, picking normally starts at 5 or 6 am and ends at around 11:30 am. By picking the grapes at a lower temperature, you avoid breaking the bunches since they are still firm. The first few vines may seem easy to clip, but after a couple of hours, your arms will ache, your back will be tired, and your legs will complain after all the squatting. It's also important to wear gloves since you are entering the homes of bees, wasps, and spiders. Picking is made bearable by people singing, helping each other, or sharing their water, coffee and snacks.

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The best part of the picking experience is enjoying the crisp, early morning sunrise, which can put anyone in a good mood. By noon, it's too hot to continue, so pickers normally take a break, have lunch, take a shower, and prepare for the next day.

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• Transporting

Once the buckets or baskets are full of grapes, they have to be conveyed to the winery. This is usually done with a small vehicle that can fit between the rows of vines, such as a small tractor or a quad with a trailer. Once the tractor arrives, you load the baskets of grapes onto it. It's backbreaking work lifting all the baskets from the ground to the trailer. Careful handling and driving are also required to ensure that the grapes reach their destination safely.

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• Processing

After weighing the grapes, to keep accurate records for the authorities, the processing starts. This is where winemakers spend most of their time. Different kinds of processing and various types of machines are used, such as selecting tables, de-stemmers, presses, forklifts, cooling systems, pumps, and temperature-controlled vats. The grape bunches are fed along the production line, after which the fermentation process commences. At this point, the winemaker has to check regularly for various parameters to ensure the fermentation is going well and doesn't stop for any unexpected reason. Other processes (such as the pigeage) may need to be done every few hours, so dedicated winemakers may sleep near the vats or barrels to ensure work is not interrupted.

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