From Grape to Bottle: The Stages of Harvest

At Quinta das Murgas, each harvest marks the culmination of an entire year’s work. When you see the grapes arriving at the winery, it’s easy to forget how many decisions, hands and hours are behind every bottle that ends up on the table.

In this article, we open the doors to harvest season, to show you the path the grapes take, from the vineyard to the wine glass.

Waiting for the perfect ripeness

It all begins with patience. Throughout summer, we closely monitor the evolution of the grapes: we taste berries, measure sugar and acidity levels, feel the skins and smell the aromas.

There are no magic formulas, just experience and instinct. At Murgas, we prefer to wait a little longer if it means more balance and a better expression of our terroir. The goal is simple: harvest on the right day, not before and not after.

Hand harvesting

When the time finally comes, we gather the team and start at sunrise. Harvesting is done by hand, with small shears, baskets and great care.

Each bunch is selected one by one, avoiding damaged berries and ensuring only healthy, perfect grapes enter the winery. It’s demanding work, but also one of the most beautiful moments of the year, filled with laughter, conversation, and a spirit of togetherness that’s hard to put into words.

Transport and reception at the winery

The grapes are quickly transported from the vineyard to the winery in small crates to avoid crushing. There, they go through a final sorting table, where we remove leaves, underripe berries or dry ones.

The less time between harvest and pressing, the better, we want to preserve as much freshness and natural aroma as possible.

Pressing and fermentation

For white wines, the grapes go straight to a gentle press, which carefully extracts the juice. For reds, the grapes are crushed and fermented together with their skins and seeds, where the juice slowly transforms into wine.

This is where the magic happens: the natural yeasts begin fermenting the sugars, releasing aromas and building the first layers of what will become the finished wine.

Ageing and bottling

After fermentation, the wines rest. Some age in stainless steel, others in oak barrels depending on the style we want for each lot.

During this time, the wine clarifies, softens, and gains complexity. Only when it’s ready do we bottle it, always with the same goal: that each bottle tells the story of the year it was born.

Harvesting is reaping an entire year’s work

When we open a bottle, it’s easy to forget everything that came before, the cold winter, the heat of summer, the misty mornings, the juice-stained hands, the tough decisions and the days of celebration.

At Quinta das Murgas, every harvest is exactly that: the result of a full year lived with dedication, patience, and respect for nature.