Watch Our Chardonnay Grapes Being Harvested at Night

Experiencing night harvest is a rush for anyone who loves wine grapes. You can see your breath, the grapes are cold and the air thick with fog. I stopped by one of our top Chardonnay vineyards on October 3 during the night harvest and joined the picking crew, who’d been hard at work since 3 a.m. Those cold, firm Chardonnay grapes with their bright acids and aromatics were already in the press at the winery by sunrise.

Why Winemaker Rob Davis chooses to night harvest all our Chardonnay grapes is a topic that’s been covered in a harvest 2010 post, and if you missed Erin’s 2012 Chardonnay night harvest trailer–created to celebrate the kick off of harvest and John Jordan’s favorite holiday, Halloween–make sure to check it out.