Napa Valley Harvest 2024 Has Begun
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — Harvest 2024 began in Napa Valley on Monday, Aug. 5, as winemakers and workers brought in chardonnay and pinot noir grapes picked for a crisp style of white wine and destined for sparkling wine and sauvignon blanc.
During a growing season marked by intense heat waves from south to north, winemaking and growing teams have been closely watching their grapes for an optimal start date.
At Round Pond Estate harvest started on Monday.
"We brought in chardonnay from the estate in Rutherford for our blanc de blancs and sparkling brut,” winemaker Jeff Plant said. “The brix came in exactly where we wanted for the sparkling, right between 18.3 and 18.7 brix with beautiful acidity and TA between 10.5 g/L and 11.5 g/L."
On Tuesday, Sara Fowler, vice president of winemaking and operations for PEJU, announced they were bringing in sauvignon blanc from southeast Napa.
“It tastes fantastic, and we're loving the quality of what we're seeing,” she said. “Harvest is happening!"
At both PEJU and Mumm, the entire winery teams gathered for a traditional "blessing of the grapes” celebration, toasting as the first grapes arrived at the winery.
"We want to pick when the acids are still bright and lively, and the sugars aren’t too high,” said Tamra Lotz, winemaker for Mumm Napa. “We look for balance between the sugars and acids in the grapes. We like to see nice flavor development with bright, juicy acidity, the hallmark of a well-made sparkling wine."
“We have beautiful ripening this year,” said Steve Matthiasson, owner and winemaker of Matthiasson Winery in Napa. “The heat perfectly balanced the ample spring rains to focus the vines on flavor development. We have tasty grenache for rosé from the Muller Vineyard in the Dunnigan Hills, Yolo County, and sauvignon blanc from St. Helena coming in next week.”
When asked about the high heat this summer, Matthiasson explained that protecting the fruit through a combination of keeping a full canopy of leaves and shade cloth acts as a sun umbrella.
“We keep our fruit protected from the sun, so for us the heat was a positive — It pushed ripening and stressed the vines at the right time,” he said.
Pauline Lhote, winemaking director for Chandon in Napa, said the weather is ideal for picking.
"We feel fortunate for the cold nights, which let us pick in great conditions and preserve nice acidity,” she said. "We are starting the Napa harvest this week with chardonnay on Wednesday in Yountville. Pinot noir and pinot meunier aren’t far behind and will be picked the following day on Thursday."
Winemakers report that this year’s start to harvest is about average compared to the first day of harvest for other vintages. Ashley Egelhoff, winemaker at Honig Vineyard & Winery, is planning her first sauvignon blanc pick around Aug. 13.
"This is on the earlier side of ‘average” ’for us," she said. "Looking at our historical growing degree days, we match up closely with historically warmer years. Right now, our best estimate on reds is shortly after Labor Day."
Robert Mondavi Winery is predicting they will start their harvest the week of Aug. 19 with sauvignon blanc from estate vineyards in Oakville or the Stag's Leap District. Kurtis Ogasawara, director of winemaking for Robert Mondavi Winery who is on his 15th vintage in Napa, summed up the excitement the start of harvest brings: “Every year is a new opportunity to improve and make the best wines the vintage has to offer,” he said.