There’s nothing quite like the thrill, the excitement of harvest. In the vineyard, it’s the culmination of a year’s careful work tending, managing, cultivating the vines to grow the highest quality fruit possible. In the winery, it’s a new beginning, a new challenge to produce complex wines that reflect the intricacies of the land. Harvest is, without a doubt, my favorite time of year and this year is no exception.
Historically, we finish bottling in late July and have 3 – 4 weeks to prepare for harvest. We knew this year was going to be different. Our growing season began two weeks early and our warm Spring accelerated the growth, but our Summer has been remarkably cool, so I was hopeful that we would have a week or two break between bottling and harvest. That did not come to pass…we finished bottling on July 28 and picked our first grapes on August 1! It was a mad rush to get the bottling line cleaned up, put away and then prep the cellar for harvest. Thanks to our efficient cellar crew we did it!

We pick the grapes for our Blanc de Blancs at a lower sugar than still wines (18° Brix sugar versus 22°) and typically, we begin harvesting for still wines three weeks later. This year, as I mentioned, we picked Chardonnay for Blanc de Blancs on August 1 and 2; we picked our first block of Chardonnay for the Reserve program on August 8…almost a month earlier than ever before!

Why such an early harvest? There are several factors:

1. The vines budded out and started growing two weeks earlier than normal.
2. During flowering, we had both rain and a heat spell which impacted flowering causing shatter further reducing the size of our crop.
3. When the crop is smaller, the grapes ripen faster.

While our harvest has begun, it has not proceeded at breakneck speed. Years ago, when we began making wine at Hafner Vineyard, Chardonnay harvest was seven or eight days straight…no breaks, no time to rest; it was go, go, go because all of the vineyard blocks were planted at the same time and all of the grapes ripened at once. Today, thanks to the different age of our vineyard blocks and different clones of our vines, the grapes ripen at a measured pace. Harvest is almost leisurely, although we do begin picking at 3 am each day.
What is most exciting about the 2026 harvest is the fruit quality. With the smaller yields and a cool Summer, we are finding the grapes to have intense flavors at a lower sugar level. Grace, Sarah and I have spent many mornings walking the vineyard and tasting the grapes. David samples the vineyard to determine the sugar level, but it is the flavors which really decides when we pick. As grapes ripen (and time passes), we notice the flavors change from Pippin apples and lemon zest (tart and zippy) to Babcock peaches and pink grapefruit (fruit-forward and soft). We decided to pick two blocks of Chardonnay when they attained those white peach flavors; those grapes came in at lower sugar levels (21° Brix sugar) which translates to lower alcohol. The juice is now fermenting, and the flavors are simply amazing. I can’t wait to taste the wines once fermentation is complete! I predict that 2026 will be a great vintage!