Stu Smith’s harvest report for the Spring Mountain District this week:
Spring Mountain District wineries often remind me of Thoreau’s ‘If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.’ Ron Rosenbrand of Spring Mountain Vineyard will finish Sauvignon Blanc this week and then wait for the reds. Nancy Walker at School House is picking Grenache, Syrah and a field blend mainly of Zinfandel. Sheldon Richards of Paloma is finishing Merlot and will be moving into Cabernet soon. Andy Schweiger just finished Chardonnay and may start Merlot later this week. Francois Bugue of Cain is finishing Merlot and Malbec and is now picking a little Cabernet. Matt Gardner of Keenan is also finishing Merlot, will be going to Cabernet next and plans to finish harvest sometime next week. ‘Let him step to the music he hears, however measured or far away,’ as Thoreau said.
Originally posted in the Napa Valley Register