Napa Valley harvest report: A busy September begins

Alexander Eisele, reporting from Chiles Valley, said Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are done and Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel “are right around the corner.”

Here is this week’s harvest report, organized by American Viticultural Area (AVA).

Calistoga

Matt Crafton, Chateau Montelena — “The red grape harvest began in earnest this week. It feels early — and it is, somewhat — but there’s also an accompanying sense of relief. It’s finally here! The weather in August has been gorgeous. Every passing warm, breezy day has fueled anticipation: WOW, this vintage has the potential to be amazing. We just have to get there and the weather needs to hold. And thus far, it has. As we cruise into September, there’s plenty to be excited about. This is a very different vintage from 2023, but that’s the point. If they were all the same, they’d be boring.”

Howell Mountain

Chiles Valley District

Alexander Eisele, Volker Eisele Family Estate — “Ideal ripening weather the past week and now warmer temperatures should keep things moving along. Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon are now complete but there will be little break as the first reds are just about ready. Merlot, Syrah and Zinfandel are right around the corner.”

Spring Mountain District

Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone Winery — “Harvest has started on Spring Mountain. Matt Gardner at Keenan has almost finished their Chardonnay, and has harvested a small block of Cabernet Sauvignon. Andy Schweiger has harvested his Pinot Noir and a small block of Merlot. John Gantner at School House will harvest his Chardonnay this Wednesday and his Pinot Noir on Thursday. Smith-Madrone will finish Chardonnay on Wednesday and then move right into Riesling. Reid Griggs at Stony Hill reports that he’s super happy with his Chardonnay harvest and would be starting his Riesling harvest on Tuesday evening. Overall, the grape chemistry is fabulous with slightly higher sugars than normal, but with sky-high acids and very low pHs.”

St. Helena

Tom Rinaldi, Patent Wines — “Labor Day 2024 was very quiet with only one pick I knew of, headed to Frog’s Leap. I cannot recall taking a Labor Day holiday in my active days of winemaking; but I was unable to contact any winemakers via company lines; and those by cell phone were not working with St. Helena fruit. While some Zinfandel has been picked, that will be for ‘White Zin.’ Sugars in the reds are rising fast, but the flavors are not anywhere they can be. It looks as though much of the fruit will be ripe at the same time, and many wineries will run out of tank space. Many vineyard managers are putting on the water in anticipation of yet another heat wave. With sugars in the 23s all the way to 25 degrees Brix, it is good that it is now legal to use what I refer to as the ‘Jesus Factor’ where we can add water to the grape juice, and it will miraculously turn to decent wine!

Rutherford

Kristin Belair, Honig Vineyard & Winery — “Harvest is often marked by a series of milestones. For example: First day of harvest, first fermenting tank, first wine to barrel, last day of white grapes and the ever-elusive last day of harvest. This past week offered a couple of harvest milestones at Honig. We finished harvesting our estate Sauvignon Blanc, we had our first completed fermentation and — the big news — we harvested our first red grapes, Merlot, from our estate. In other words, harvest continues to be moving along at a remarkable pace. The days are certainly full, but there is still time to carefully assess our next moves on the great chess board of the tank chart and closely monitor fermentations and vineyards. Cabernets from St. Helena and Gordon Valley will start coming in this week and are looking spectacular on the vine. The adventure continues as we enter our fourth week of vintage 2024. And, from the neighborhood, Celia Welch of Celia Welch Consulting reported that she is seeing sugars running ahead of maturity markers and that it is nice seeing the final phase of maturity running 10-14 days ahead of last year. She says, ‘We’ll be continuing to watch and wait on the Rutherford red varietals.’ Meanwhile, the weather forecasters are predicting another short warm-up for the upcoming week, followed by a moderate cool down, which will likely lead to a significant surge in harvest activity.”

Yountville

Louis Kapcsandy Jr., Kapcsandy Family Winery — “A relatively quiet start to the month, with more fruit destined for Rosé programs to be picked before a three-day spell of above-average temperatures will continue to push the vines to regulate. Phenolics are building nicely in the Merlots, with the Cabernet Sauvignons not far behind. The Cabernet Francs will come in last by a wide margin. Most growers are quietly optimistic about yields, which may turn out better than anticipated as the fruit sizing has filled out nicely for many on the valley floor. Hillside fruit is modest on cluster weights, and water resources may become a minor issue if more high heat materializes after the Sept. 8. Everyone is ready for the main event, which will arrive in less than 10 days. Bring it on!”

Atlas Peak

Igor Sill, Atlas Peak Mountain Winery/Sill Family Vineyards — “This week’s weather change signals that summer has quickly come to a close and the cooler autumn season is now bringing our grapes to their final stretch of growth prior to harvest. We completed fruit drop and veraison and are now preparing for all the pre-harvest preparatory work that requires coordination as we focus on the next four weeks when we anticipate picking. It’s been an absolutely brilliant 2024 growth season!”

David Hardten, Hardten Family Vineyards — “As we look forward to September hang time, the clusters of dark grapes are ripening with good balance of acid — tart to the taste and developing sugar. Even the wildlife knows this is going to be a fantastic growing season. The deer look longingly through the gate wishing they could get in to enjoy a snack before we harvest the ripe fruit. While the mountain elevation usually means a late October harvest, likely this year will be a bit early based on the timing of veraison at the vineyard. Nature still has twists that it can send our way, but it looks like this will be a fantastic year for fruit in the mountains of Napa Valley!”

Stags Leap District

Elizabeth Vianna, Chimney Rock Winery — “Harvest has officially begun in the Stags Leap District. Grapes are just starting to trickle in. Elias Fernandez, winemaker at Shafer Vineyards, was excited to begin: ‘Yes, will get started next week with Merlot. Here we go!’ Carmel Greenberg, winemaker at Clos du Val, will start with her first block of Stags Leap District Merlot. ‘Berry skins are crunchy with soft tannins and flavors are rich and juicy. Cabernet and other varieties have another week or two to go.’ Marcus Notaro, winemaker at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, was picking a small part of the 1972 planting of Cabernet Sauvignon in Stag’s Leap Vineyard this week. ‘So far so good, going to back for more starting Wednesday.’ Alison Rodriguez, winemaker at Silverado Vineyards, has some Cabernet Sauvignon on their upper slopes ‘tasting great already. Trying to hold off for another 10 days, but we’ll see!’ At Chimney Rock our hillside Merlot is close and we have several Cabernet blocks that also are starting to show some beautiful flavors. It looks like September will bring quite a bit of harvest activity this year.”

Oak Knoll District

Tony Baldini, Trefethen Family Vineyards — “The Oak Knoll District is jumping! Besides activity at Trefethen bringing in Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, our neighbors are mid-way through whites and in some places transitioning to reds. David Natali of Biale writes, ‘Our first Zinfandel from the Oak Knoll will come in this week from the estate on Big Ranch. Looking to move ahead of the heat, we’ll proceed to bring a good deal of our Oak Knoll fruit this week. Quality on the vine is looking great so far and we can’t wait to have it in tank.’ Over at Clif Family, Laura Barrett describes the changing situation: ‘We have finished our Sauvignon Blanc harvest and will be moving on to our first pick of Chardonnay this week for the Unoaked program. Excited to be getting it off the vine just before the next warming trend, keeping acidity in check. My early reds are hovering around 22 Brix, which is a great place to be for the first week in September. Cruising through harvest at the moment and very grateful for the nice pace.’“

Coombsville

Carneros

Christopher Hyde, Hyde Vineyards — “This week in Carneros harvest moves into its third week with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at Hyde Vineyards, and our first Sauvignon Blanc scheduled for Thursday. This week also marks the end of our last harvest for sparkling wine. The quality is exceptional, with the weather continuing to shift between highs and lows as it has through the long summer season.”

For real-time harvest photos and updates, visit the Napa Valley Vintners’ Harvest 2024 website at harvestnapa.com. Read the full article here.