A final period of fine weather is needed to complete the ripening of the grapes and to harvest them. Some grape picking is still done by hand. Whilst this is obviously labour intensive and very costly, it does allow the grapes to be sorted carefully at the vineyard or winery. Machine picking is much quicker and cheaper, but it does not allow the same rigorous grape sorting.
That said, machine picking can be particularly advantageous in hot climates as it allows harvesting in the cool of night. However they're picked, the grapes need to be transported from the vineyard to the winery as quickly as possible. A few weeks after picking the vines will lose their leaves, and they then shut down for the winter dormancy.
Winter
During the winter months the vine is dormant. A period of frost and snow is actually beneficial, helping to kill off over-wintering pests and diseases. Heavy rain is also welcomed as it allows the soil to replenish its water reserves. A lot of general maintenance takes place in the vineyard, with trellises repaired and fertilisers applied.
The main winter chore for the grower is to prune the vines. There are a number of vine pruning and training systems in use today. The Guyot system which is used extensively in France involves pruning the vine back to just on or two canes, and then training these along wires. The more old-fashioned bush training system has no wires, the vines being pruned back to an unsupported gnarled trunk. This ancient technique can still be seen in several Mediterranean countries, as well as in a number of the oldest vineyards in Australia and California.
