Chapter Two
Making Wine Harvesting the grapes is just as tricky. Around August, the grapevines start adding sweetness to their grapes. Grapes usually do this to attract birds to their vines to eat the grapes to spread their seeds, like most types of fruits. At this point, WillowCroft starts testing their grapes for a balance of acidity and sugar content. With too much acidity, the wine will be too bitter. If the grapes have too much sugar, the wine will be too sweet and be more like a dessert wine and not what WillowCroft wants. WillowCroft attempts to wait until the acidity and sugar content are at the balance they want. This is, of course, if the weather doesn’t cooperate. If heavy rain is on the weather forecast, WillowCroft will harvest the grapes early to make sure they get the best flavor. Winemaking is part luck, part science, and part artistry. The winemaker
29
