Riesling Question - when to pick?

I've made Riesling a few times from fresh pressed juice obtained in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ont. However, a local (Niagara County, NY) grower I know now has Riesling grapes to sell. He asked me when I wanted them and indicated that another winemaker wants his to be picked at a lower sugar, high acid (0.9 TA) levels. I told him that I would be happy with that, but now I'm having second thoughts, as I also like late harvest Riesling, but I don't want the acid too low. Maybe I could get some of each. Anyone have suggestions or recommendations?

Howie, what kind of sugar levels are there in those grapes (preferably for me in Oechsle)?
/Anders

I'm not at all familiar with the Oechsle scale, as I only use Brix. However, I did find this interesting link:
http://rieslingrules.com/the_book/riesling-around-the-world/kpw-german-oechsle-brix-conversion-table/.
So I'm figuring that if they were picked in about 2 weeks or so (early October) they might be about 18 Brix or 74.1 Oechsle.
If I waited until the end of October, weather depending, about 22 Brix or 91.9 Oechsle.

92 Oe would, according to the table I have correspond to 12.5 % abv, if you ferment it dry, which sounds fine to me, as long as there is enough acidity. However 74 Oe would lead to less than 10 % abv - pretty low, I'd say. You could chaptalize, of course, but I would aim for a harvest at least above 80 Oe. All this said with my very limited experience in winemaking and in making the decision when to harvest...

Good luck,
A

PS. i had planned to check the sugar level of my Riesling grapes today, but ran out of time. One week ago, they were around 60 Oe and the weather has been fine this week, so I'd guess they might be above 70 Oe by now. Depending on the weather, I'll probably harvest in the beginning of October.

Hi Howie,
They grow Riesling on this side of Niagara River just as good as they grow it on the other side. How well do you know this grower? What is his/her “crop load”? Will he/she allow you to check the numbers yourself using a refractrometer and maybe getting a 15 ml sample of juice and checking the acid with a TA test kit? Good luck Howie with this years harvest!

Salute

True Victor - I've known this grower for almost 30 years and he is one of the most honorable persons I've ever met, and he is an excellent grape grower. I have a refractometer and will check things out. I'll also be buying Pinot Grigio (which spawned my "Why Am I Confused" thread) and Pinot Noir from him.

How are your vines doing Howie.

Salute

Victor - not as good as they should be at this stage, but not as bad as they could be. I need some help from somebody with a green thumb (I've managed to kill off both rhubarb and horseradish). I still need to set up a spray program, weed control program, bird control program and fertilizer program. However, I may still be able to harvest some grapes this year if the birds don't eat them all.

I’m sure you will get the knack of it Howie. I found the Jeff Cox’s book From Vines to Wines very helpful. The first part of the book deals with growing the grapes, site selection, soil preparation, laying-out the vineyard, trellising, training, pruning, and pest control. At the present time, a buddy and I, have a very small vineyard plot, it only consist of three Merlot vines, nothing near what you are dealing with. But we are learning. Some mistakes here and there but we’re learning. We’ll probably never make wine from these grapes but this year for the first time we might see some nice clusters of grapes. Good luck with this year’s harvest and good luck with your vines!

Salute