Phenolic Ripeness: The State of the Tannins, Not of the Sugar

The standard

Separately assessed ripeness evaluates the phenolic condition independently of sugar content, because the two processes run at different speeds and can diverge within a vintage.

Criteria

• The condition is judged on skin, seeds and stem, not on must weight
• The assessment is repeated over the course, not made on a single date
• The evaluation names which of the two ripening paths governs the harvest date
• A divergence between the two ripenings is recorded, not averaged out

Distinction

Phenolic ripeness ≠ sugar ripeness: must weight measures accumulation, not the state of the tannins. Phenolic ripeness ≠ tannin quality: ripeness is a point in a course, quality a property of the result. Separately assessed ripeness therefore keeps the two paths apart.