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See the pretty pinot noir grapes, freshly picked in the Los Carneros appellation of Sonoma County and ready for processing into a great vintage. I had the rare opportunity to follow the farmworkers in the dusty soil of an award-winning vineyard as they quickly and laboriously hand-picked these outstanding berries, then gathered them into bins for delivery to the crushing facility.
California's wine country has begun harvesting its thousands of acres of grapes, with the white varietals typically the first to be plucked from the vines for processing into sparkling wine. Depending on the weather, red wine grapes are left hanging on the vine as long as possible to develop the most flavor. It's been a challenging summer for winegrape growers in Sonoma and Napa counties: well-below-average temperatures and cloudy days went on for weeks, followed by super-hot weather, then a return to more seasonable highs and lows. There were also a couple of showers to add even more drama.
Despite the weird pattern, the 2010 vintage should be exceptional, though there may be fewer grapes harvested. Generally speaking, there are no bad years!
California's wine country has begun harvesting its thousands of acres of grapes, with the white varietals typically the first to be plucked from the vines for processing into sparkling wine. Depending on the weather, red wine grapes are left hanging on the vine as long as possible to develop the most flavor. It's been a challenging summer for winegrape growers in Sonoma and Napa counties: well-below-average temperatures and cloudy days went on for weeks, followed by super-hot weather, then a return to more seasonable highs and lows. There were also a couple of showers to add even more drama.
Despite the weird pattern, the 2010 vintage should be exceptional, though there may be fewer grapes harvested. Generally speaking, there are no bad years!
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