The Vice Winery harvested one of Napa Valley’s first red grapes of the year on July 24 from Truchard Vineyards, turning early-picked Pinot Noir into “Napa Valley Nouveau”, a 10% alcohol Rosé set to reach consumers while harvest is still underway
July 23, 2026 (Napa Valley, CA) — Most of Napa Valley is still waiting for the 2026 harvest to begin. The Vice Winery is already making the vintage.
On the night of Thursday July 23rd and early morning of Friday, July 24, The Vice Winery hand harvested Pinot Noir from Truchard Vineyards in Carneros, among the first red wine grapes to be picked in Napa Valley this year.
The grapes will come off the vine at approximately 17° Brix and move immediately from vineyard to press to fermentation. Within weeks, The Vice plans to have the finished wine in the bottle and in consumers’ glasses.
The bone-dry Rosé of Pinot Noir is being made with a target of just 10% alcohol, bright natural acidity, zero residual sugar and no added sulfites. The first bottles are scheduled for release before Labor Day, with national availability beginning in September.
Harvested in July. Released in August. Napa Valley’s first taste of 2026.
“Wine is one of the few agricultural products where consumers rarely get to experience the excitement of a new harvest when it actually happens,” said Malek Amrani, founder and winemaker of The Vice Winery. “Most people won’t taste a Napa Valley wine from the 2026 vintage for another year, two years or even longer. We want them to taste this vintage while Napa is still harvesting it.”
The idea takes inspiration from the tradition of nouveau wines but reimagines it through a Napa Valley lens.
Instead of extended aging, our Rosé of Pinot Noir is built around immediacy. The Pinot Noir grapes are intentionally harvested early to preserve freshness and natural acidity, then quickly pressed and fermented completely dry.
“At 17 Brix, we’re not looking for the ripeness or power associated with traditional Napa Valley red wines,” Amrani said. “We’re chasing freshness, energy and acidity. The goal is a crisp, bright and completely dry Rosé at around 10% alcohol, a wine that tastes like the beginning of harvest.”
The July 23rd pick at Truchard Vineyards represents one of the earliest harvests of red wine grapes in Napa Valley this year, and one of the earliest red wine grapes in Napa’s history. While Cabernet Sauvignon and many of the valley’s other red varieties remain on the vine, The Vice Winery will already be fermenting its first wine of the new vintage.
The race from vineyard to bottle will then begin.
The wine is expected to complete fermentation and move rapidly toward bottling, with the first release planned before Labor Day, just weeks after the grapes are harvested.
For The Vice, the ambition extends beyond a single release. This is the winery’s second vintage Rosé release before Labor Day, a new annual tradition: a wine that marks the arrival of each new Napa Valley vintage and allows consumers to participate in the energy of harvest in real time.
“Every year, the wine world waits to hear what the new Napa Valley vintage will be like,” Amrani said. “Instead of telling people, we want to pour them a glass.”
Napa Valley’s first taste of 2026
Vineyard: Truchard Vineyards, Carneros
Harvest Date: July 24, 2026
Harvest Brix: Approximately 17°
Style: Bone-Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir
Target Alcohol: 10% ABV
Residual Sugar: Zero
Added Sulfites: None
Release: Before Labor Day 2026
National Availability: September 2026
ABOUT THE VICE WINERY
The Vice Winery is a Napa Valley winery dedicated to showcasing the diversity of Napa Valley through wines sourced from vineyards across the region’s distinctive appellations. Founded by winemaker Malek Amrani, The Vice Winery combines innovative winemaking with a commitment to vineyard expression and an unconventional approach to how Napa Valley wine can be experienced.
With a diverse portfolio of wines distributed throughout the United States and internationally, The Vice Winery continues to challenge convention while celebrating the vineyards, varieties and people that define Napa Valley.
