Last Thursday (9-4-22), we met up with Matt Crafton, winemaker at Chateau Montelena, to check in on how the grapes are doing in the vineyards to the north of the winery. We visited some young vines, saw some prep work for some re-planting about to happen and got to chat about the 2022 vintage. Every year we get questions as to why winemakers “drop”, or trim off, grapes from their vines in the middle of Veraison. Matt addresses that question as they are hard at work right now, “dropping fruit”.