Harvest continues across wine country.
In my annual round-up Scenes from Harvest 2013, which features photos, wine videos and updates from those working long, long hours during this incredibly intense time of year, I asked for anyone who wanted to share more photos to shoot them my way. My inbox has been filling up with great submissions, so thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.
This update comes from Joseph Phelps Vineyards based out of St. Helena in the Napa Valley.
“We picked our first Napa Valley red grapes this morning at Joseph Phelps Vineyards!” Mitzi Inglis wrote in an email.
Those luscious grapes you see in these photos are Cabernet Sauvignon from the wineries Spring Valley estate in St. Helena.
Armchair quarterbacking is always fun, so I too enjoy checking out the various gear used during harvest.
ALSO SEE: Wine video season
Sometimes you’ll see a lot of heavy equipment. Other times, as in these photos, it’s a more human-centric affair–hand-picking, despite our adoration for all things digital, is often the only way to go. Either way, if you have friends in your social networks that work at wineries you’ll no doubt be seeing late night status updates. Those are typically followed by photos of celebrations after a long, long day. Drink of choice? Not typically a glass of wine… but often a frosted mug of beer. The credence that it takes a lot of beer to make good wine certainly seems true when you spend time in Napa and Sonoma this time of year.
White grapes picked during harvest will make it to store shelves in a year or so. Reds, on the other hand, sit in barrels and ferment longer, and usually don’t make it into our glasses for a few years.
