Véraison

"Véraison" is the changing of the colour of the grape (ripening).

The righthand photo was taken in my neighbours vineyard, and as you can see from the different colour berries the Véraison has only recently began.

On the far left is a photo taken on the same day in "Chateau Cheval Blanc", one of the top, and most expensive, wines worldwide. The vineyards are perhaps 5 kilometers apart and you can see from the difference in the colour of the grapes how far advanced the Veraison is in "Cheval Blanc".

Daragh and I assisted a good friend move his wine cellar one evening. Following the boxing of the wines our friend Don opened a bottle of "Cheval Blanc 1986" for us to drink with a scrumptious home made Shepard's pie. At €600 a bottle it was a handsome reward for 3 hours work/pleasure.