Workers at Las Positas Vineyards started picking grapes before sunrise to kick off the season. The winery said it was the first in the region to begin harvesting this year.
"We started this morning about 4 o'clock, and we'll probably finish up here by 7:30, 8 o'clock," said Brent Amos, winemaker and partner at Las Positas Vineyards.
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Once harvested, the grapes move through several stages before becoming wine.
"The machine removes the grapes from the stems, puts them into our press, which is an airbag inside a tank, essentially," Amos said. "It very gently squeezes out the juice. Juice will run down to the tank, and then we start the fermentation."
Amos said this year's harvest began about 10 days earlier than last year. He attributed the earlier start to several growing conditions, including an early bud break and mild weather throughout the season.
"A lot factors into it," he said. "You know, it started with an early bud break, so the vines kind of woke up early this year. Started working a little sooner than usual. Weather's been very mild, so we haven't had the heat waves that kind of knock down or slow down the vines. Also, hasn't been quite as cold at night, and so the vines are going to bed later and waking up earlier."
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The earlier harvest does not mean a change in grape quality, but it does create a shorter timeline for winery operations.
"Taking care of the wines we just started, just created, and you know, putting them to barrel, getting some of them ready to bottle, working with wines we have in barrel, getting those ready for bottling," Amos said. "So it never ends. You know, there's always one next big project to go."
For now, harvesting remains the focus. Amos said he expects the harvest season to last two to three months, though in some years, grape picking continues through Thanksgiving.