Sauvignon Blanc Harvest / 2017

October 23, 2017

UPDATE: I wrote this post before the devastating fires that swept through Napa, Sonoma, Lake County and Mendocino beginning October 9th-20th, 2017. I’ll share my thoughts on the fires and how it impacted our community as soon as I get my head back above water. xo – Meg

In Napa Valley, harvest is one of the first indications that the seasons are changing. This summer was so jam packed with work, sourcing trips, events, photo shoots, and multiple design projects, that the 2017 harvest season arrived shockingly fast. When our Director of Wine at ONEHOPE called to tell me that we were going to be harvesting our Sauvignon Blanc on August 24th, while ecstatic that I was going to be in town to shoot, I was simultaneously a little bummed that summer was really coming to a close and that it felt like it had passed by in a blink. Now that pumpkins and fall produce have arrived in stores and the temperatures are cooling with particularly chilly mornings, I’m choosing to embrace it and I’m looking forward to a change in pace after a marathon of a summer. Here are a few of my favorite shots from that day.

PS: I blogged about harvest last year here and how monumental it was in shaping my views on the Mexican American farmworkers here in Napa Valley. Watching this crew harvest 12 tons of grapes by hand in just under three hours only reaffirmed my views that we need to be taking care of our farmworkers here, not only in the wine industry, but in agriculture in general. As consumers become more and more conscious of how and where their food is being farmed, I hope they also pause to think about where their wine is coming from and the work behind it, the next time they open a bottle. I’m so honored to be working for a company that cares so much about the production process and the people behind it. Cheers!

Wine Wednesday / Cabernet Harvest

November 2, 2016

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being at our first Cabernet harvest since Jake and I moved up to Napa. Our Sauvignon Blanc harvest was pretty mind blowing (I wrote about it here and here) so I was excited to get in the vines for the second round of the year. This time, however, our winemaker asked me to meet him at Clos du Val after all of our grapes were picked so that I could participate in sorting for the first time. I was so slammed that day, but dropped everything to be there. Having the opportunity to sort grapes with our winemakers, Tony Coltrin and Rob Mondavi Jr. who are legends in the valley, was far too awesome of an opportunity to pass up. Here are some of my favorite shots from that day.

Cabernet grapes ready to be harvested! Tony explained that some vines will shed their bottom leaves to maximize sun exposure on the fruit.

One of a few hundred bins filled with grapes.

Bins are then dumped into containers on the tractor until full.

One worker will usually stand on the back of the tractor to do an initial sort (picking out any obvious leaves).

Moving on to the second Cabernet block for picking…

Time to weigh in! The tubs are lifted onto the scale with a forklift and weighed on site before transport to the crush pad.

Grapes in the shad waiting to be sorted at Clos du Val.

Grapes are dropped one container at a time on to the sorting line. Leaves are removed and discarded.

The fruit drops into the crusher and de-stemmer where all of the stems are removed and eventually composted.

Filling up the tanks!

The tanks inside Clos du Val, some of which hold our wine while our winery is being built.

Since we were on site, Tony took me to the barrel room to try a few barrel samples of our Fumé Blanc.

Thieving wine from the barrels. PS: it was delicious!

Have a great weekend!

August 26, 2016

Fall harvest officially started on Tuesday of this week and I’m so honored that I had the opportunity to capture it on behalf of ONEHOPE. I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly did not expect what I ended up experiencing: the shocking, gritty, exhausting, exhilarating pace of the process and people working harder than I’ve ever witnessed in my life. I talked a little bit more about it here.

My grandmother’s side of the family was made up of primarily migrant workers that moved from state to state to find work, so in my heart I have a real connection and love for agriculture and all her family endured working in the fields to survive. There is something about Northern California that has always felt like home to me, particularly when I’m out in the “country”, and since she was born in Salinas, maybe it’s just something that’s in my soul. Because of that, I felt like it was really important to experience our first NorCal harvest in person, not just on a professional level, but on a spiritual level too.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the team that harvested our Sauvignon Blanc all week. To be honest, it felt so petty and insignificant going back to designing this huge home right smack-dab in the middle of the vineyard. What has kept me going, however, is the mission behind this property… that this structure will incubate and house change on a global level, that it will bring together leaders in all different industries to experience what I just witnessed and more. And if people can leave here with even a sliver of the inspiration that I have felt this week to do good, to be a better person, and to enact change, then we will have succeeded.

I’m thrilled that tomorrow we’ll be at STOMP to help raise money for the Mexican American farmworkers in our community. While we’ve attended in the past, it will most certainly have an even bigger meaning to us this year. I can’t wait to share more next week.

Have a great weekend!

-Meg

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