What does Hand-picked mean?

Hand-picked means the grapes were harvested by hand, making it possible to select healthy, ripe bunches and keep them whole.

Also known as: Hand-harvested, Picked by hand

Hand-picked means the grapes were harvested by hand, usually with secateurs or a knife, rather than by a harvesting machine. Pickers place the bunches in small crates or baskets so they are not crushed on the way to the winery.

The main advantage is selection. Pickers can leave behind unripe, damaged or rotten bunches and take only healthy ones. The grapes are often sorted again on a sorting table. Whole bunches can be kept intact, which some methods require, such as whole-bunch fermentation or the gentle pressing in Champagne, where hand harvesting is compulsory.

Hand harvesting is also essential on steep slopes where machines cannot go, as along the Mosel, in the Douro or in Priorat. For sweet wines made from noble rot, such as Sauternes or Tokaji, the vineyard is often picked several times so that only the right berries are taken.

The method takes a lot of labour and time, so it is most common among smaller producers and for more ambitious wines. Machine harvesting is faster and can give very good results on flat land. Hand-picked therefore tells you about care in selection, not on its own about the quality of the wine.