Harvest is the moment I wait for all year, and at the same time the one that puts the most pressure on me. It isn’t just about picking grapes: it’s the end of eleven months of work in the vineyard, and the decision that weighs most on what the wine will be like in the glass.
In Oslavia, with ponca under our feet and a climate that changes its mood from one day to the next, there is no fixed calendar. Every year you have to read the vineyard all over again.
If you want to know what happens in the months before the harvest, I talk about it in how a wine is born in the vineyard: from pruning to harvest.
When we pick, and why there is never a set date
In Collio the harvest falls between late summer and early autumn, but if you ask me “which day”, I can’t tell you until I’m in the vineyard checking. This is what I look at:
- how the berries are ripening, bunch by bunch
- what the weather has been like in recent weeks, and what the forecast says
- the balance between sugar and acidity — this is what really decides the style of the wine
- what I want to get from that particular plot
Every vintage is different, and that changes everything: I talk about it in the article on why the same wine changes from one vintage to the next.
How I decide the right moment
There is no formula. I walk between the rows and taste the berries, check the skins, and watch how the vines are coping with the heat or the rain of the last few days. Sometimes waiting three more days completely changes the character of the wine. Other times, three more days are already too many.
It’s a job of constant observation, not a checklist.
Why we still pick by hand
We harvest by hand, bunch by bunch. It takes more effort and more time, but it allows me to discard on the spot whatever isn’t right and to respect the vine instead of stripping everything in a single pass.
For me, this is the difference between picking grapes and picking the wine I want to make.
What really matters: the land
In Oslavia, ponca does a good part of the work before it’s even my turn. It’s a soil that stresses the vine just enough, forces it to work, and you can taste that in the wine — more minerality, more tension. I’ve also written about it in what ponca is and why Oslavia wines are different.
The exposure of the rows, the microclimate, how much rain fell that season: all of it goes into deciding when to pick.
From the vineyard to the bottle
What I bring into the cellar during those harvest days determines practically everything that follows: freshness, structure, how well the wine will age. What goes wrong in the vineyard can’t be fixed in the cellar.
You can see how these choices translate into the wines we make here in Oslavia in our shop.
A job that repeats itself, but is never the same
Every harvest teaches me something new, even after all these years. For me, the winemaker’s job is exactly this: to interpret what the season gives you, without forcing it.
If you’d like help finding your way among our wines, I’ve also written a guide on how to choose a Collio wine.
In conclusion
The harvest in Collio is where the year’s work, experience and the land come together. Every decision made in those days — when to pick, how to select the grapes — stays in the bottle.
If you’re passing through Oslavia at that time of year, come and see how we work: you’ll find all the details on our visits page.
