Fall Harvest

It's almost time for Harvest at the vineyard! I always think of it with a capital H because it's such a major happening around here. Harvest is so exciting - all the work that went into the vineyard all year long: the pruning, the tying-on of vines, the weed-whacking, the spraying, the vigilance against birds and raccoons and blackrot and mildew ... It's all finally paying off!
The grapes look fantastic. The picture here is of a bunch of the Cabernet Sauvignon and it looks like they'll be ready for harvest next week. You can tell when they're ready by testing the amount of sugar in the juice. Eric can tell just by tasting them, but he also has a little machine that measures it precisely. The level of sugar at which you start harvesting depends on the type of grape and the preferences of the winemaker.
Pretty soon we'll be harvesting and then it will be time for the crush!