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Post-harvest, it is not unusual for entire vineyards to be pulled out.

Some only last so long (Cabernet Sauvignon for example, about 20 years), some have issues with disease or whatnot - and with some, the owner simply decides he/she now wants to plant something else.

That said, it seems there is a lot more pulling this year than in the past.

Nowhere else is this most apparent than at the Napa Valley’s most famous photo op spot.

So yes, I am behind in these updates (sorry).
But grapes are coming in fast & furious now so stay tuned as the 2010 harvest plays out.

Towards Nickel & Nickel Winery

Grape Clusters 28 Weeks Post Bud Break

Towards Robert Mondavi Winery

So I am a bit behind my vineyard update posting schedule; I just haven’t been able to make it over to the vineyard in Oakville I’ve been featuring this season.

But as I was driving home, I stopped at this vineyard in Saint Helena so that I could share a bit of what’s going on here in the Napa Valley with you.

According to my winemaker friends, the season is a “bit of a nail biter” but has great potential.
And now that the unusually cool summer has give way to an unusually hot fall, things are getting interesting fast.

Stay tuned–I will get to that Oakville vineyard this week and we’ll get back on track.

From what I understand, the ripening of most grapes is behind “schedule” this year due to the unusually mild temperatures we’ve been experiencing. So, this will likely be a late harvest–unless we have early rains. Rain pretty much necessitates harvest as the grapes can be damaged.

That said, today it was 100 106 degrees Upvalley. It will be interesting to watch what happens from here on out.

Below you can see that the grapes are well beyond veraison and that the leaf canopy has really developed since Update #5.

That development is particularly notable as I’m told that quite a bit of canopy management–meaning successive cutting back of the leaves–has been occurring in most vineyards. This cutting allows more sunlight to reach the grape clusters, thereby optimizing the ripening process. There has been more of this cutting this year than in past due to this summer’s crazy cool weather.

Towards Nickel & Nickel Winery

Grape Clusters Nineteen Weeks Post Bud Break

Towards Robert Mondavi Winery

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While Sangiovese is not a grape varietal widely planted in the Napa Valley, there are a handful of producers such as Benessere Vineyards in Calistoga.

I do not know the exact date these grapes were picked, but due to the recent wild weather, I understand that most grapes that will come in, have come in.

There is a lot to be said–and a lot of photos to share–of this past weekend’s annual Saint Helena Hometown Harvest Festival.

Always one of our most favorite events of the year, not only does it signal the change of seasons here, it is pure family fun.

I’ll share more of the experience over the next few days, but below is a photo that shows one of kiddo’s highlights of the day.

Face-Painting at the Saint Helena Hometown Harvest Festival, 2009

While I understand that the majority of the grapes in the Napa Valley have been brought in (that’s vineyard-speak for picked), this vineyard in Rutherford remains to be harvested.

And while driving down-valley today, we noticed that quite a few vineyards have also not yet been picked.

With showers forecasted, things will get even more interesting this week as rain can have all sorts of undesirable effects on grapes at this point–from dilution of the juice to mold on the clusters. Or not.

This point in time is a great reminder that grape-growing or wine-growing or whatever-one-calls it, is truly farming and as such is extremely subject to the variables of nature.

You can also ask my sister and her husband all about farming.

Harvest has begun in the Napa Valley.

From what I gather, the grapes destined to become sparkling wine are coming in–a bit behind schedule even.

But here in the more northern parts of the valley (where I live), the grapes are still on the vines.

If you are looking for a more definitive analysis of harvest, or are interested in reading more about the experience directly from the winery point-of-view, check out what my friends are doing over at The Cork Board.