# Veraison



## berrycrush (Jul 21, 2015)

The grape clusters grown on my balcony starts to turn purple. How long does it take normally from changing color to harvest?


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## grapeman (Jul 21, 2015)

That depends on the variety and your location as well as the weather. I figure around 6 to 8 weeks in my location.


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## salcoco (Jul 22, 2015)

keep tasting when it meets you satisfaction pick


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## mfzona (Jul 22, 2015)

The birds will let you know.


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## berrycrush (Aug 10, 2016)

mfzona said:


> The birds will let you know.



They sure did but I was too late. They picked all my Leon Millot clean within a week from this moment:







Only my Frontenac are spared:


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## Johny99 (Aug 10, 2016)

Oft repeated phrase, color is the vines way of telling the birds the seeds are mature enough to grow. For me, that is when the nets go on. Sun is another factor in when. 6-8 weeks is typical for me too although then you have the, "how long should I let them hang" conversation with yourself.....


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## berrycrush (Aug 15, 2016)

Yesterday I measured the berries with refractometer, it reads 20 brix. But some berries fell to the touch and they appear a little withered, can I keep them hanging any longer?


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## TonyR (Aug 15, 2016)

The ones you have left are Frontenac right? Keep them hanging for as long as you can just to try and bring the acid levels down enough to work with. Taste the berries, are they good? Are the seeds inside the grapes nice and brown? What type of wine do you hope to make? If a sweet wine then the acid is not that big of a deal. Hope this helps some


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## berrycrush (Aug 15, 2016)

TonyR said:


> The ones you have left are Frontenac right? Keep them hanging for as long as you can just to try and bring the acid levels down enough to work with. Taste the berries, are they good? Are the seeds inside the grapes nice and brown? What type of wine do you hope to make? If a sweet wine then the acid is not that big of a deal. Hope this helps some



Yes they are Frontenac and they still taste very sour. I will keep them hanging as long as they can.


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