The wine harvest has begun so we conducted an interview with the head of our wine cellar,  Donato, to explain the process.

When will the harvest begin at Monaciano?
We plan on starting on the 21st of September.

Which types of grapes are harvested and how much?
The prevalent grape of the Chianti Classico is Sangiovese and we have about 45 hectares  of which most goes to the Chianti Classico, some is also used in Chianti Colli Senesi, Rosso Colli Toscano Centrale and Rosso Colli dell’Etruria Centrale. We also harvest about 2 hectares of Canaiolo and Merlot.  For our white wines, we have Trebbiano and Malvasia, about 2 hectares that are distributed  through 15 hectares of other vines.

How long does the harvest last?
The harvest lasts for about 20 – 25 days of which only a few days are for the white grapes.

Which grapes are harvested first and in what manner?
We harvest the white grapes first, always by hand and then we move on to the red grapes which are picked by machine.

How do you measure th sugar content in the grapes?

We use a °Brix and a Refractometer.  Shortly before the harvest the measuring process are performed daily in the vineyard to control the optimal ripeness.

How do these two instruments work?
The °Babo is a tool used to determine the sugar content of grapes, and therefore the potential alcohol content of wine that you will get. It is made of glass and is placed inside a cylinder containing wine, and is left floating, the number read on the scale of the instrument gives the degree of the must which, multiplied by 0.64, giving the alcohol potential  the wine will have after fermentation.

To achieve the measurement with the refractometer some grapes are crushed and you dribble a little juice on the surface of the prism. You point the instrument toward a light source and look through the eyepiece to read the sugar content in degrees Brix, which simply expresses the percentage of sugar by weight of a solution. In the case of a must, with the presence of other substances besides sugar and water, the Babo measure gives an indication of what the alcohol content of the wine will be.

Do you expect a good harvest?
Even with the draught this summer, the grapes are healthy and at the perfect level of ripeness.

How many people are needed during the harvest at Monaciano?
Normally 4-5 people in the vineyards and another 2 in the cellar.

What happens whenb the grapes arrive in the wine cellar?
As soon as the grapes arrive in the cellar they are emptied into a large tub and are brought to a machine that crushes the grapes and removes the stems.  Using a pump, the must is then put into a cement tub where it begins the fermentation process.

Replacements are performed each day via a pump (which allows you to mix and aerate the must) to obtain an optimum fermentation, which lasts from 15 to 20 days.

After fermentation, the wine obtained is decanted to remove impurities. The solid part is pressed to separate all the pomace from the wine. At this point, we let it rest for at least 4-5 months to become a wine for all purposes.