Napa Valley Night Harvesting - While you were sleeping...

If you happen to travel the Napa Valley during darkness these days, you can't help but notice all the bright spots around the valley.  Those are nightime harvesting operations in progress.  The two videos below were taken at 3:00 in the morning.  This particular vineyard is not affiliated with Pina Napa Valley nor Pina Vineyard Management, but it was at a good location for filming, just below the Silverado Trail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8yft7o0btA

In the videos, you can hear the generator that runs the flood lights and the tractor running.  You can see the pickers with their headlamps, dumping their boxes of grapes.  And you can see the tractor driver/leafer, removing the leaves from the harvested grapes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SiZCEs507o

Armed forces visitors

I gave a short tasting/tour at the winery last week for a group of 6 people. It was planned weeks in advance. It's not something I do often. I prefer that our visitors get a chance to taste with people that really know their wines... our wine educators.


Two young men in that group are serving in our Armed Forces. One was a veteran of Iraq, the other a veteran of Afganistan.  They will both be returning to their respective assignments.  I thanked them for serving our country, and one of them gave me this hat.  My thanks paled in comparison to what I was given. 

Godspeed, gentlemen.  Stay safe!