The Tognetti-Bayview Vineyard in the Carneros region of California’s North Coast kicked off the 2016 grape harvest for sparkling wine specialist Schramsberg. The first grapes were brought in on August 3.
“The Bayview vineyards every year come in earliest of our sites,” Schramsberg proprietor Hugh Davies told the Daily Calistogan. “The microclimate there is unique: dark loamy soils along the Carneros Creek, just north of the San Pablo Bay watershed. The exposure is planted north-to-south, and it seems to provide the vines with optimal sun, and a surplus of nutrients and water.”
The occasion called for a few words from Davies, a toast, and even some bottles opened with sabers. I kid you not. And then the Pinot Noir picking picked up steam.
Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from cooler regions like Carneros —earmarked for sparkling wine — almost always kick off the harvest season, as high sugars in the grapes are not required for making sparkling wine.
You can read more about the Schramsberg festivities here.
Here’s hoping for a successful harvest for all of the grape varieties in all of California’s growing regions! As we know, great wines begin with great grapes.
