The first of Napa Valley’s sparkling wine producers began picking grapes around 6 a.m. on Wednesday, July 30, just two days earlier than the start of last year’s wine grape harvest. Although this past winter was one of the driest on record, Napa’s vintners and growers are predicting an abundant, high-quality harvest for the third year in a row.

While there is a specific moment in time when the first grapes of each Napa Valley vintage are picked, every harvest represents the culmination of 12 months of rigorous work and concentrated effort by our vintners and growers to produce the best possible wines.

Grapes for Napa Valley sparkling wines are the first to be harvested, followed by aromatic white wines like Sauvignon Blanc. Chardonnay, lighter reds and then deeper red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon will become ripe and be picked next. Unlike other agricultural harvests, ours typically lasts from early to mid-August until sometime in the latter part of October. But every year is different and we encourage you to follow along as the most exciting time of year in Napa Valley is about to begin!

 

Late and very welcome spring rains set us up well in this otherwise dry year. Thanks to the long, moderately warm spring, even flowering, good fruit set and few heat spikes, we’re looking forward to bringing in some beautiful fruit and maybe even an above average yield.

Ludovic Dervin, winemaker Mumm Napa