Grape Harvest

September/October - Harvest time is left up to Mother Nature. Usually 180 days after bud break, we continually check with the growers to see how the grapes are doing. In September we start trying to secure our grapes for the Co-Op based on price and quality. The optimal scenario is to get the same grapes each year. The growers check sugar levels and when the brix are between 23 and 25 they allow us to pick. We try to pick on the weekends but sugar levels can change fast so we pick when we can. Some vineyards will charge a little extra and pick for us.

It generally takes 6 people 3 hours to pick a 1/2 ton of grapes depending on the vineyard. We usually leave around 8AM and are back by noon.