Wine · Terminology
Véraison
The turning point when berries soften and change colour, and ripening proper begins.
Véraison is the visible turning point of the vine's year: the berries stop growing as hard green marbles, soften, and change colour — black grapes going from green through pink to purple, white grapes from green to translucent gold.
Underneath the colour change, the berry's chemistry flips. Sugar starts accumulating fast, acidity falls, and colour, tannin and flavour compounds develop in the skins. Everything a taster later calls ripeness begins here.
In practice
- Usually late July to August in the northern hemisphere, roughly 40–50 days after fruit set.
- It is not simultaneous — bunches, and berries within a bunch, turn over a week or two. Uneven véraison means uneven ripeness at harvest.
- Growers often thin the crop at véraison, dropping the bunches that lag behind so the rest ripen evenly.
- Water stress management matters most in this window: a little stress concentrates, too much shuts the vine down.
Where you'll meet it
- Every vintage report, as the marker for how early or late the season is running.
- The growing cycle guide and water and irrigation.
- Wine-country tourism photos, since it is the prettiest fortnight in the vineyard.
What changes in the berry
| Before véraison | After véraison | |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | Very low | Accumulating rapidly |
| Acidity | Very high (malic dominant) | Falling — malic respired first |
| Colour | Green, chlorophyll | Anthocyanins in black grapes; gold in whites |
| Tannin | Harsh, green | Softening, polymerising |
| Flavour | Herbaceous | Varietal character developing |
| Berry | Hard, small | Softening, swelling again |
Note the acid row: malic acid is metabolised much faster than tartaric, and faster still in heat. That is the mechanism behind "warm climates lose acidity".
The exam angle
- Véraison marks the start of the second growth phase, and examiners like the term used precisely.
- If asked why a hot region produces flabby wine, the answer runs through véraison: high temperatures accelerate malic respiration, so acid drops before sugar and flavour ripeness arrive.
- Uneven véraison is a legitimate reason to explain green, unripe tannins in a finished wine.