September 19, 2024 – Saint Helena, CA — The harvest tempo is ramping up in Napa Valley with winemakers excited about this year’s quality. Red wine grapes are coming in throughout Napa Valley with Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Syrah and Zinfandel all making their way to crush pads.
The red wine harvest kicked into high gear the second week of September.
Coming off of several weeks of moderate heat, temperatures cooled beginning September 15. Many winemakers are taking advantage of the cooler weather by letting the grapes hang for further flavor development and are taking the opportunity to catch up in the winery. Others continue to harvest at a rapid pace.
The region is expected to see a quick burst of heat on September 23 and 24. Kurtis Ogasawara, director of winemaking for Robert Mondavi Winery, said “This cool week is an optimal week for ripeness without gaining too much sugar. There are a lot of grapes ready to pick. We have been picking this week and will continue through next week.”
Due to the region’s wide-ranging topography and climate, along with the health and age of a particular vineyard, reports on when red varieties are coming in are varied throughout the valley. That said, wineries in most of Napa Valley’s AVAs have begun their Cabernet Sauvignon harvest with more picks to come later in September and October.
In terms of yield, it seems to be site specific with some reporting smaller crops and others reporting average. Magarita Postoronca, viticulturist at Chandon said “we have seen lighter than average yields with winter rains and warm soil temperatures allowing vineyards to grow well, with clean, small clusters.” In Chiles Valley District, wineries are reporting average to above-average yields.
As for quality, there is an overall feeling of enthusiasm for the vintage. David Natali, winemaker at Robert Biale Vineyards shared his sentiments saying “Quality overall at this point is looking great,” and Michael Coode, general manager and winemaker at Rutherford Hill Winery said, “We’re on track for another strong year.” As reported in the latest St. Helena Star harvest update, Alison Rodruquez, winemaker at Silverado Vineyards said this of the Cabernet Sauvignon she picked recently, “If this is a preview of 2024, [I] can’t wait to see the entire film.”
When asked about what winemakers did to prepare for this growing season and if they were trying any new techniques, here’s what they had to say.
“Notably this year we moved to no-till, both at the winery and at the Biale family ranch. During the 2023 season, we tilled every other row but felt compelled to increase no-tillage as a hedge against any heat events, either in the summer or closer to harvest. The no-till practice has had a positive effect in reducing canopy temperatures and maintaining integrity of our thin-skinned Zinfandel clusters,” said Natali. Robert Biale Vineyards is known for making wines from historic, old-vine vineyards.
To prepare for potential sun and heat, Chelsea Barrett, winemaker at Mattera, Cunat Family Vineyards said “We have been very aware of the sunburn risks this summer and have adjusted the canopy to provide appropriate shading.”
Kale Anderson, winemaker at Kale Wines, said that because of the abundant rain during the growing season, “There’s a lot of water in the soil, so we were able to do a minimal amount of irrigation.”
In terms of the season’s weather, winemakers didn’t seem phased by the July heat as the majority of the summer has been moderate.
Natali, with vineyards in nearly all parts of Napa Valley, said “So far the weather has been in our favor. The heat during the summer, while stressing some younger re-plants, was weathered well by older field-blend vineyards. Additionally, that early stress helped diminish berry size and balance clusters which should lend itself to higher quality wines in tank.”
At Tierra Roja in Oakville, Neal reported that it’s been “Just a perfect year so far. We had a heat spell in early July, but the grapes were not especially vulnerable at that time, so we were not affected. We had a lot of growth, but the canopy was deftly managed by a series of shoot removals and positioning, leafing, crop thinning and more. Now we are looking at clusters that are perfectly separated and sprinkled with dappled sunlight.”
With grapes coming from around Napa Valley, Coode said “Luckily the weather has been relatively kind to us this year with lots of winter rain, mild spring and relatively mild summer outside of the July heat.” He noted that veraison was noticeably prolonged with some berries lagging most likely due to the heat in July, but that otherwise, the growing season has been fairly standard for vine management.
Stay up-to-date on the Napa Valley harvest at harvestnapa.com where we post regular video updates from the winemakers and track the vintage from start to finish.
