I never realized when I closed my last posting a week ago that the harvest of grapes for sparkling wine production would begin within hours! The photo above was taken earlier this week in Napa Valley. These are some of the first grapes of the season...Chardonnay that will go into Domaine Montreaux, a wonderful small batch Napa bubbly. Kevin Corley is shown here inspecting some of the first picking bins to go into the winery just after dawn.I was photographing vineyard landscapes in Alexander Valley, over the hill in Sonoma County, when I got the word from Chris Corley that they would be pressing grapes this week. It seems like just a couple of months ago that I was photographing 'bud break' in some of these same vineyards. Just rows away from where we were picking... small pockets (maybe 1 -2 %) of red grapes are still completing veraison! The sugar levels in these Chardonnay (and Pinot Noir) grapes that will go into a sparkling wine cuvee are much lower than they will be when the regular (still wine) harvest begins in a few weeks.
Even though it did not take long to complete picking and pressing it was the sure sign that things are about to get crowded around the crush pad. For the wine exhibit...every aspect of the 'winegrowing' season will be photographed. There are few times in the year more exciting to be around a winery than at harvest time....so stay tuned to the upcoming posts!
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