“Every vintage is a sprint disguised as a marathon – by dawn we’re already chasing time, heartbeats humming in the rows as we try to resist nibbles of grapes while picking. In this post, I want to share how that long harvest day wove together friends, family, rhythm, and promise in a glass.” by Chad
As I round out almost three years of writing an almost-weekly blog, I still find myself trying to refine what topics you all are interested in (farm/wine and life metaphors seem to be a hit). The messages and feedback you send are pure joy. I have to admit, my brain moves around a lot, and writing seems to be a place I can get all the words out, in a way intended to entertain and educate.
So let me ask you this: have you ever climbed a big mountain, run a half marathon, or maybe even had a project that took multiple 12+ hour days? Somewhere toward the end of it you might ask yourself, why am I doing this again? Or, I can’t wait to be done and eat pizza and drink a beer.
But nevertheless, we finish the climb, or the race, or the project, and a few weeks later we’re planning the next one. Harvest can be a lot like this.
The Big Day
Actual harvest day is definitely like a marathon. Not many more big decisions, just the work of getting it all picked and pressed in one day.
This year, I’d like to share about picking our Estate Chardonnay (09/15/2025). The anticipation built, and the harvest morning came early.
Picking this grape at home is so special. It’s just about 150 feet from where we sleep. We feel super lucky we decided to make this wine in a Chablis style, because it just seems to fit, and people love it.
So, it’s harvest day. I’m up at 4:15 a.m. (I was always taught you show up before your team to make sure everything is ready). I’m out the door by 4:45 with headlamps and coffee. I had the pick-up, trailer, and bins ready the night before. I pull the truck over near the Chardonnay so we’re ready to load once picking starts. I run into Jesus and his wife Bernarda. They’re ready to start. We lay out a few yellow lugs and they get going.
I head back to the house to wake the boys. Shortly after, Jeana and all three boys, join us. They love harvest days. Not long after, one of our good friends joins as well.
The Rhythm of Picking
From that point forward, it becomes a rhythm. We start in the dark, but soon enough it’s light.
The rhythm is simple: lay out yellow lugs, pick grapes, fill the lugs, load them onto the gator. One of the boys usually drives while I load. Then we haul the lugs to the big bins on the trailer.
Friends and family show up to help for a while, then peel off to their own days. By midday, it’s obvious – this is a big crop.
Temperatures were mild, much more moderate than picking Pinot the week before. Jeana and I realized this may be a long night at the press.
Picking Grapes
Quick rundown: gloves, clippers. Cut anywhere the stem is connected to the shoot. Drop the cluster into the lug.
When you get fast (like Jesus) it sounds like a rhythm – constant clipping and clusters hitting the lug. Not complicated, but definitely a difference in picking speed from one person to the next.
Strategy and the Press
Now, back to the story. Where were we? Oh yeah. Jeana and I trying to strategize how to get the press loaded at least once while we’re still picking the rest of the Chardonnay. (Oh, and it was hard not to eat the grapes all day – they were just so good!).
It all seemed to unfold close to lunch or a bit before. I was able to race the grapes to the scale, get our first weight, then load the press with part of the first load. As the press was going, we had someone there to watch it and manage moving the juice into the tank. Which left me to run back to help finish picking. Back to the routine: laying out lugs, pickers picking, and picking lugs up.
Now it’s early afternoon and everyone is getting tired. There is nothing quite like when someone shows up close to the finish line to help. Today it was our boys coming home from school. What a welcome relief – a third wind. They arrived about 4:15 p.m. We finished picking about 5:30 p.m. A little over 12 hours of picking.
But the job wasn’t finished. Off to the crush pad to run two more press loads.
The work on the crush pad seems a bit like a break after picking and moving lugs all day. Loading the press can be done with the forklift, and the juice coming out of the press is moved with the pump. There is clean up of bins and emptying the press between press loads, but there are also moments to sit, eat, and rest a bit.
The Reward
The fruit of the Estate Chardonnay looked so clean, and the juice tasted so good. Plentiful juice from an amazing harvest with beloved friends and family. I think we wrapped up that night around 11:30 or midnight. A big sigh and a bit of excitement when everything was clean, put away, and the Estate Chardonnay juice resting in tank.
Nineteen-hour days aren’t something we do all the time. Excitement and urgency can pull you through. Excitement to bring in another vintage. Urgency because with grapes, you have to get them picked and processed right away. Not much different than that marathon, mountain climb, or big project. There’s a moment – like right before the boys showed up from school – where you’re questioning the workload. But by the time you wrap it all up and finish, there’s an amazing excitement and energy about what you all accomplished.
And the proud moment was this week when we moved that same Chardonnay juice into barrels for their neutral aging.
Cheers
I really hope you enjoyed this. We love the heck out of this wine. We love how many people it’s connected us with.
Cheers y’all – here’s to Chablis-style Chardonnay.
Another great blog, Chad! I felt like it was right there with you picking the grapes. I kinda wish I was. Maybe some harvest in the future will be able to come up there and help you guys out.