Harvest is coming to a close for most of the Spring Mountain District, but not all. Wes Steffens at 7 & 8 is pushing hard and hoping to finish late this week. Matt Sherwin at Sherwin Family Winery is in a similar state that he describes as ‘being in the seventh-inning stretch.’ Ron Rosenbrand at Spring Mountain Vineyard and Frank Schaefer at York Creek Vineyards are both pushing hard with harvesting and hoping for some warming so they don’t have to go too far into November before finishing.
Those of us at higher elevation had a below-average crop for both the Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. The berries were much smaller than normal and with shatter the crop took it hard. What we lost in tonnage we made up in wine quality. The color and flavors are great and point to an outstanding vintage.
Written by Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone Winery, published in Napa Valley Register
Harvest photo shared by Fantesca