Harvest

My plan for the day was ambitious.

I wanted to see the beginning of the Vendange, the grape harvest in the Maydock.

It is the reason I chose this leg of my journey, and I knew I had to leave early.

I walked to the nearest tram stop and tapped my TBM card against the reader.

But tonight I am content.

I am in Bordeaux, and I am alive.

The Vendange has begun, and so has my journey here.

I hope you join me as I continue to settle in, to learn, and to grow.

Lower yields, favourable slopes and selective harvesting can increase quality, but they also increase production costs and price.

Arsace also produces two important late harvest styles.

Vendage tardive means late harvest.

The grapes remain on the vine to develop greater ripeness and concentration, producing wines that may range from dry to sweet.

Selection de crin noble is made from individually selected grapes affected by noble rot.

These wines are dry, concentrated and intended to express a high quality single vineyard.

So for the exam focus, for Alsace, connect the Vosges, Rain Shadow and Long Dry Autumn to ripe aromatic wines.

Know Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Pinot Blanc and distinguish Alsace, Alsace Grand Cru, Vendage Tardive and Selection de Grand Noble.

Here's today's news and research.

Harvest has begun early in Valpolicella, Italy with Corvina grapes already being picked across the region's 19 municipalities.

The Consorzio Vini Valpolicella says harvest is around two weeks ahead of the historical average and seven days earlier than last year, following a hot and dry summer that accelerated ripening.

Valpolicella joins a growing list of European wine regions experiencing early harvests in 2026, including Burgundy, Champagne, Bordeaux and South Tyrol.

Oh, boy.

Well, we'll lift a glass to it because in Napa now they have this period called the crush when they start to harvest all the grapes.

Does that season exist in Traverse City? I imagine it does.

And is it now?

It's coming up, and it's interesting you bring it up.

We don't necessarily have something correlated like that, but we should, like your idea, it's another new event we can start up, The Crush in Traverse City.

We'll work on that.

Yeah, well, I mean, it's when they take all the grapes and squeeze them, and I don't know, I don't think there are people walking around barefoot in tubs like they did in the old days.

I'm gonna goof it up.

Vendimia? Vendimina? I don't know.

Correct me.

Contact me.

I mean, you look way cleaned up for it being harvest.

You know, I mean, I was going to think like, you know, filthy hands and everything.

Man, tell me how Harvest 26 has been treating you so far.

Oh, really well.

Really well.

And after more than two decades in Napa wineries, what still makes wine special for you? And what still makes parts, things like harvest special for you, you know?

If you're in production or you're a winemaker and you're dreading harvest, you're in the wrong business.

Harvest is the playoffs.

And if you're not excited about the playoffs, then you're playing the wrong sport.

And so... every year I get so excited at harvest because it's an opportunity to try to make your best wine possible.

three.

Harvest 2024.

Ready? Michael's got the pitchfork.

Doris is helping.

Look at our Instagram.

Look at the Solovato Wines Instagram.

They'll make a highlight bubble for harvest 2024, and then you can see the video of what you're hearing.

But what you'll see is that wine grapes are small, like much smaller than grapes that we are familiar with, you know, from the store and juice and jelly.

Exactly.

Today, I wanna take you deeper into the grape harvest season.

In Latin, that's vindemia.

Vindemia? That sounds like a fancy dessert.

It's the time of year when grapes are picked to make wine.

So we can say, vindemia est.

It means it is the grape harvest.

Vindemia est.