Berry Size and Red Wine Quality

I was reading an article published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture about saignée which is French for bleed. In winemaking, saignée refers to the removal of juice before the start of fermentation. Which reminds me that at this point in our vineyard planning, we also seem to be bleeding. All of the accessories that are necessary to plant a vineyard, individually seem reasonable, but when they come all at once it is quite shocking! Note to self for later: Planting a vineyard entails more than just the cost of plants.
Anyway back to saignée. The article that I was reading is called "Chemical and Sensory Effects of Saignée, Water Addition, and Extended Maceration on High Brix Must" (I'll write another blog on this article) and it was interesting but I happened upon a paper in the literature cited section, written by Vernon Singleton in 1972 and read that as well. Singleton's paper is called "Effects on Red Wine Quality of Removing Juice before Fermentation to Simulate Variation in Berry Size" and he conducted various experients to understand if juice removal before fermentation had any effect on wine quality.
Singleton starts with an often heard premise that "A struggling vine makes the best wine." His explanation is that a struggling vine will produce smaller berries and this may offer a reasonable explanation for the quality of wine produced. In order to test this hypothesis, Singleton harvested 10 different red varieties and subjected the juice to 3 different treatments. The treatments included:

• (1) removal of 10% of the free run juice, to simulate smaller berries
• (2) addition of 10% of the free run juice, to simulate larger berries
• (3) the control to which nothing was done

All the wines were made in the same way and a sensory panel judged the wines. The bottom line was that all other things being equal, as little as a 10% decrease in average berry size which can be approximated by the use of saignée can be expected to produce a recognizable and therefore an important increase in red wine aroma, color, tannin, and quality. So saignée or bleeding, in winemaking is a good thing!
Reference:
1. James F. Harbertson, Maria S. Mireles, Eric D. Harwood, Karen M. Weller, and Carolyn F. Ross "Chemical and Sensory Effects of Saignée, Water Addition, and Extended Maceration on High Brix Must", Am. J. Enol. Vitic., December 2009, 60:450-460.
2. V. L. Singleton, "Effects on Red Wine Quality of Removing Juice before Fermentation to Simulate Variation in Berry Size", Am. J. Enol. Vitic., 1972 23:106-113.