California: Grape harvest gets going early in Napa
California: Grape harvest gets going early in Napa
Aug 2, 2013 6(PressDemocrat) - As the morning light broke over Napa's Silverado Trail, a crew of vineyard workers began the early harvest of pinot noir grapes for sparkling wine on Thursday.
The crew of 46 men harvested about 15 tons, filling bins heading for Mumm Napa, in what's believed to be the first North Coast harvest of the 2013 season.
The harvest began at least one week before normal, said Ben Vyborny, vineyard manager for Vyborny Vineyard Management.
"The weather's been good this year, not real hot and not too cold," Vyborny said. "That's good for complexity and maturity and for making good sugars."
The grapes will likely end up in Mumm's brut rose, said winemaker Ludovic Dervin.
"It's been actually a really good growing season...Spring was really mild, Dervin said. "We had pretty good set, we had a really nice crop. I don't know if it's going to be as big as last year, but it looks promising."
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