Uniformity of Ripeness and Size in Cabernet Sauvignon Berries from Vineyards with Contrasting Crop Price

Abstract

Ripeness uniformity and berry size are thought to be key determinants of fruit quality, and hence crop price, for winemaking, but there is little objective data to confirm the relationship between both variables and crop price. In order to test for a relationship between crop price and uniformity, three California Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards each of a high ($9,000–10,000/ton), a medium ($4,000–5,000), and a low ($500–1,000) crop price were selected and fruit uniformity at commercial harvest was measured for two consecutive years. Substantial differences in crop price were associated with differences in vineyard size and crop management styles. Higher priced vineyards were managed more intensively with more hand versus machine operations and with more dropped crop at veraison. There were no differences in mean values of Brix, pH, berry weights, or anthocyanin concentration for different crop prices. Surprisingly, there were also no measureable differences in fruit uniformity using Levene’s test. Moreover, high crop price fruit numerically had lower uniformity in Brix and pH compared to medium and low crop price fruit. Average fruit anthocyanin concentration was 0.95, 1.08, and 0.88 mg/g in high, medium, and low crop price fruit, respectively, and was independent of berry size (0.6 to 1.8 g) for high crop price fruit. However, anthocyanin concentration of low and medium crop price fruit ranged from 2.2 mg/g in small berries, which is substantially above that of high crop price fruit, to 0.6 mg/g in large berries, which is substantially below that of high crop price fruit. The data demonstrated that the environments and production practices in high priced vineyards do not produce highly uniform fruit compared to low priced vineyards.