When are the growing grapes considered ripe for harvest?
Just because the color has turned on your grapes, it doesn’t mean they’re ripe. Generally speaking, grapes need one to three weeks after turning color to be considered ripe for harvest. But this time frame is dependent upon many factors including the variety, what the grapes are to be used for, and environmental conditions like the weather. The grape variety has a lot to do with how quickly the grapes will ripen. Varieties are classified as early, mid-season, and late depending on how many days it takes for the grapes to go from full bloom of the flowers to harvest ripeness (Usually compared to the Concord variety). It should be obvious that early varieties will ripen fast and be picked much earlier than late varieties. If you grow a variety that is considered late in an area with a short growing season of less than 170 days, the grapes will never get totally ripe.