What winemakers do all year

Understanding the winemaker experience

The winemaker experience is not quite like any other. The winemaker learns the terroir of his or her vineyard — the microclimate of the fields, the amount of sunlight and moisture the vines at various points in the day and the most likely weather at different points in the season. This lets him or her choose the right variety of grape for the terroir. Then it’s time start nurturing the grapevines, protecting them from bugs and mildew while pruning them to make them produce more fruit. The winemaker considers the weather at every stage of growth and what effect it will have on the grapes. From time to time, he or she tastes a grape to see how ripe it is.

The busiest time of year, of course, is the harvest. In American wineries, the grapes are often hand-picked to ensure quality. Precisely how the grapes are crushed depends on whether the winemaker is trying to make red or white wine. There is also maintaining the wine barrels and bottling the wine.

The winemaker experience at a winery near St. Helena

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, is a great place to learn about the winemaker experience. It holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines and learn about the process of making and storing the wine. Anderson’s wines are sold online and in five locations in Napa Valley, and many other locations nationwide. Order some today.