low gravity readings

[Gurgeh]

I've juiced a bunch of my phoenix and a bunch of my regent to see how far off harvest i am and am sorely disappointed.

both varieties have a gravity of ~1.050

clearly this summer has been abysmal, but how will the next few weeks affect those gravity readings?

what would be the best course of action? - harvest as late as possible and add extra fermentables of some sort?

Thanks for any help

[lockwood1956]

You should be harvesting in october or perhaps even November...the grapes will ripen ok....pick when brix (sugar levels) are higher and the seeds are completely brown

[Gurgeh]

okay - phew! thanks Bob!

That means i can get the cider harvest out of the way first, brew my beer for entry to the sutton competition and then relax with a little winemaking

[lockwood1956]

you might want to invest in a refractomer (a fantastic aid to deciding when to harvest)

[Gurgeh]

top of christmas list!

[Duffbeer]

And get some nets around them to stop the pesky birds, i checked mine yesterday and the brix were 16, too low to harvest but the birds had been having a good harvest.
Sweet enough for the birds but not for wine, wait until end of Oct/Nov until the odd one is raisin like before picking or the acid level will be too high to make wine.

[Gurgeh]

i've already quashed the hopes of the local birds - the vines at the allotment are netted whilst the ones on the frame in the garden have these paper tubes my Mum brought over from spain which supposedly repel insects and definitely prevent the starlings from seeing them. seems to work.
so far...