It's the last day of grape pressing at Rombauer Vineyards in St. Helena. A purple rain of fruit from the 2024 harvest was being collected Thursday by senior winemaker, Richie Allen and his crew.
"Here is Cabernet from St. Helena, we can tell by the aroma it's a high-quality lot. It has the right amount of extract and tannin we want," said Allen.
Allen says the quality of the grapes is looking good despite some challenges during the growing season.
Napa Valley Grape Growers Association members say extreme heat was a huge concern.
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"This year, we counted 38 to 40 days of above 100 degrees, that's a big difference from years past, especially 2023 when we had 8 to 10," said Mike Stornetta from Stornetta Made Farm and Vineyard Management.
But growers say late rains and a cool spring came to the rescue early on.
"We had plenty of moisture in the soil when we started with the growing season and had early rain in the growing season, which helped with good canopy growth," said Pauline Lhote from Chandon,
"I say it's a good harvest is when nothing goes wrong, while it's been warm nothing's gone wrong," Allen added.
One of the biggest challenges to the harvest has nothing to do with growing grapes. Wine consumption is down globally in recent years.
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Inflation and younger consumers opting for other beverages are a few factors for the decline.
"Wine sales are not what they used to be," Stornetta added.
No one is too worried about the trend, yet.
"Wine is still the number one thing that people go to at dinner table, so now, how do we get people back and that's what drives innovation," said Allen.
In about a year, winemakers say they'll know how good the 2024 vintage really is.