Harvest Report – 24 September 2025

For Smith-Madrone, the weather has been very cooperative. The reds are moving along, albeit slowly. We’ve harvested small blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, showing good flavors, character and maturity. We’ve harvested our small block of Petit Verdot and it was double last year’s light production. The Petit Verdot is a fairly young block at five years old. This gives you a sense of Mother Nature’s bounty this year. It’s an unusual season in that there is a lot of fruit. The berries are good-sized and the clusters are larger than normal and very tight. If it wasn’t for the risk of fires we could all be rejoicing at such a bountiful crop. For those who look at such things, the seeds this year seem to be smaller than usual and they’re on the verge of turning completely brown. If you like to plan your harvest around the maturity of the seeds, it looks like the beginning of October should be a very active time for getting the red wine harvest moving. For those of us in the high elevations in the mountains, it’s been very pleasant weather.

Schweiger Vineyards has finished Merlot and Malbec and is well into Cabernet Sauvignon. Every tank is full and Andy Schweiger is happy with flavors, acid balance and the elegance of the tannins. He’s looking forward to resuming picking by the end of the coming week once acids come down a bit.

At Vineyard 7 & 8, Wes Steffens reports that the winery has finished harvesting its Chardonnay. These vineyards are in their 44th year and while yields were down a bit from the last couple of vintages, he quality of the fruit harvested is exceptional. As far as reds at 7 & 8, the plan is to taste through the vineyard later this week, although it may be a couple of weeks until things really kick into motion. 2025 is on its way to being another spectacular vintage for those of us on Spring Mountain.

Written by Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone Winery, published in Napa Valley Register