And now the craziness begins.
The 2024 harvest in the Northern Hemisphere commences about the time you are reading this—and it is a time for people who love wine to steer clear of any winery.
For the past two months, U.S., Mexican, and Canadian wineries have been operating in high gear, preparing for the arrival of grapes. Wineries have been transferring last year’s wine from tanks into bottles, cleaning equipment that’s used just once per year, making arrangements with truckers and harvest crews, and dealing with a dozen other chores.
The hard work includes winemakers who do the critical job of walking through vineyards to see which vines are approaching flavor maturity—and this includes vineyards that are so large that it is virtually impossible to see more than a random sample.
Vineyard walkthroughs by winemakers start early in the day and can last hours, often under a broiling sun. Winemakers are looking for flavors that they can assess by chewing on grapes. They also gain clues from how the grapes look, how the leaves look, and even the color of the seeds inside random grapes.
Unless a winery is extremely small, at which one or two people can attend to various tasks, a large crew of people is often employed to acquire yeast, buy bottles, arrange for labels to be printed, get the proper quantity of corks, and at least 20 other seemingly mundane tasks.
When the winemaker, often in coordination with a grape grower, determines the harvest date, a crew is hired. On picking day, early in the morning at most wineries, the harvest begins. Ideally, lug boxes are loaded onto trucks while the grapes are still cool and taken directly to a winery for processing.
The different techniques used to make white, pink, and red wines are normally fairly smooth, with whites coming in first and reds last. The work is furious. Inevitably, unexpected problems arise.
There’s an old saying in the wine business: It takes a lot of beer to make good wine. Winery workers are notorious for keeping cool with a brew. Most know that they usually have to say goodbye to family for several days at a time. Work is often around the clock. Eating is on the run.
All three of my sons had brief teenage experiences at wineries during harvest times. All cherished the experiences. I believe it’s essential to work at a winery for at least a day during harvest to understand how crazy it is to make wine.
And it may not be too late this year to experience this. If you live near a winery, regardless of where you reside, and you desire a little firsthand experience, a good idea is to call a local winery and offer to work as a “cellar rat.”
If the harvest hasn’t begun where you are, you may be surprised to learn you are welcome! Wineries are always looking for people eager to learn about the nuts and bolts.
Among the best places to volunteer near major population centers are wineries in Oregon (Willamette Valley), Ohio, New York (Long Island), Virginia, and Missouri. Wine country areas in these states are farther from major population centers: southeastern Washington (Tri-Cities), Minnesota, Michigan (upper peninsulas), New York (Finger Lakes), Colorado, Texas, southern Oregon, and New Mexico.
And since wine is produced in every state, hunt around. You may find a winery you didn’t know existed!
Even though I have spent just a few days working harvests over the decades, I can honestly say it was some of the most wine-educational work I ever imagined.
