Harvest…It’s a Wrap

Harvest is the culmination of a year-long journey for the perfect grape.

Harvest brings a frenzy of excitement to the vineyards. This much-anticipated annual ritual is an accumulation of the hard work of many people, all leading up to picking time. Wine growers, winemakers, enologists, and harvest interns forego their regular lives to tend the vines, always hoping that this year will be the best harvest ever.

The cycle of the grapevine takes a full year. The unique story of each vintage begins to unfold at harvest, when the winemaking team makes decisions on how best to optimize what nature has delivered, but the cycle begins the previous winter when workers prune and prepare the vines for dormancy during the long winter season.

With spring comes bud break, a critical time for the vine, when the newly formed leaves—which are quite fragile—are at risk for frost and hail. Miniscule flowers bloom from the new vine shoots during the flowering stage. As spring turns to summer, fruit set occurs when the self-pollinated flowers become tiny berry clusters that will determine the crop size for the vintage. Next up is veraison when the green berries begin to gain color and ripen. Summer sunshine encourages sugar development and ripening in each grape. The cool evenings ofEastern Washington preserve the grape’s natural acidity and freshness.

Lastly comes harvest which takes place from August through November in the northern hemisphere. This represents “go time” as the winemakers taste, test, and measure brix (sugar content) and determine when the grapes have reached optimal ripeness and are ready to be picked. It takes an enormous amount of teamwork, energy, and organization to create a successful harvest. With this profound understanding and appreciation of what takes place in both the vineyard and winery, sipping a glass of Washington wine is even more enjoyable!