August 14, 2013 – Early Harvest Underway

There is one feature that you notice right off as you drive up American Canyon on Highway 12 leading into Napa Valley.  As the white grapes near maturity, the vines are covered with plastic netting to keep birds away from the ripening fruit dangling just inches below.  Today I was driving along this route half-expecting to see the netting, but it was absent.  But then, so was the fruit.  Later, pulling into the Provenance driveway, I noticed that the Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon vines had all been harvested too.  It would seem that most of the white grapes in the valley have already been harvested, which is remarkably early for as many years as I have been coming here (since 2005).  There have been reports in the local news about the harvest being two weeks ahead of schedule and the vineyard managers need to be careful not to over ripen the fruit this year.  On the plus side, I sampled a few red grapes from different locations and the flavors are already wonderful.  I just hope the acidity is there to make these wines perfect.  Dismissing any unforeseen hail storms (check the 2012 Burgundy harvest and just recently in 2013), I’ll bet that 2013 turns out to be another excellent vintage in Napa Valley.