Term used to describe the optimum ripeness of the grapes in the annual vegetation cycle of the vine. Ideally, the grapes should be harvested at this point in time or state of ripeness. The term maturation (French: maturité) describes the state of ripeness in terms of the sugar or must weight formed (sugar ripeness) in connection with the acid content, whereby a distinction is made between early, full and overripeness. Maturation is a phase, whereas physiological ripeness is a state or point in time.
The term technical/technological ripeness is also used in this context. The grapes have reached a maximum of stored sugar. The term physiological rip eness first emerged in the USA in the 1990s and subsequently became increasingly established in Europe. Physiology as a branch of biology is the study of the physical and biochemical processes of all living organisms.
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