There is a moment, every summer, when the vineyard changes face. It is not the harvest, not yet time to pick the grapes: it is véraison, the stage when the berries move from the solid green of growth to the first colour of ripening. At Castello di Magione, the Umbrian estate of Terre dei Cavalieri on the Colli del Trasimeno, this transition is observed cluster by cluster, walking between the rows. It is a moment that can be watched but not hurried: the vine follows its own pace, and those who tend it soon learn to respect it.
What is véraison
In the first weeks of July the berries are still hard and green. Then, within a few days, they begin to change: they soften, accumulate sugars and — in red varieties — turn towards purple, while white varieties become paler and more translucent. It is not a process that affects the whole cluster at once: neighbouring berries on the same vine can be at different stages, and it is precisely this unevenness — visible to the naked eye — that is the sign the cycle has truly begun.
Walking between the rows these days, the eye learns to catch the nuances: a single cluster can show berries still green, others already pink, others almost purple. It is a palette that changes hour by hour, especially in the early morning, when the light is lower and the colour of the berries stands out more sharply.
From an agronomic point of view, véraison marks the beginning of the final stage of the grape’s cycle: from this point on the berry no longer grows significantly in size, but sugars concentrate, acids decrease, and the aromatic and colouring compounds that will define the wine begin to form. This is why the period between véraison and harvest — generally six to eight weeks, depending on the season — is among the most delicate of the whole vintage.
The work in the vineyard never stops
From this moment on, checking the rows becomes a daily task. Every shoot is looked at, every cluster is touched: the state of the skins is checked, sun exposure is assessed, and on the hottest days steps are taken to protect the berries from sunburn. Checks are best carried out in the coolest hours of the day, when raking light makes it easier to spot the first signs of change and the heat spares both the plant and those working it. It is still done by hand, cluster by cluster — not as a stylistic choice, but because it is the only way to truly know the state of the vineyard before harvest.
The varieties grown at Castello di Magione — including Grechetto and Sangiovese, at the heart of the Colli del Trasimeno DOC wines — do not all ripen at the same pace: each variety has its own timing, which means véraison, on the estate, is observed in different waves across the central weeks of summer.
In the following weeks, attention also turns to the canopy: excess leaves around the clusters are thinned out to improve airflow and encourage more even ripening, reducing the risk of mould in wetter years. These are minor operations, almost invisible in the overall story of the vintage, but decisive for the final quality of the wine.
One estate, a wider project
Castello di Magione is one of the estates that make up Terre dei Cavalieri: several estates, several regions, one single project stretching from Rocca Bernarda in Friuli to the Umbria of the Colli del Trasimeno. Each estate keeps its own character and its own agronomic calendar — at Magione, in these July days, the calendar says véraison.
A landscape between vineyard and lake
The estate lies just minutes from Lake Trasimeno, in a landscape where the rows slope gently down towards the water. The castle, whose origins date back to the 12th century, was built as a place of welcome for pilgrims and has been linked for centuries to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta: within its walls, the vine has always accompanied the life of the community. It is no coincidence that the vineyard and the lake share the same horizon: it is the same balance of water and climate that shapes the character of the grapes that ripen here.
From vine to bottle
Véraison is not just a moment to capture in pictures: it is the most reliable indicator of how far the harvest still is, and it guides every decision in the following weeks, from thinning the clusters to choosing the picking date. It is work that is rarely seen from outside, which is exactly why it is worth telling.
Wine begins long before the cellar — it begins here, in these July days when the berries, one at a time, change colour.
To share this moment and the estate’s daily work up close, Fabrizio Leoni, director of Castello di Magione, has followed the vineyard in words and images: a story you can also follow on the social channels of Terre dei Cavalieri.
