Harvest is always the busiest time of the year for vineyards around the world. Here in Virginia, harvest is just about wrapping up for everyone in the Monticello area.
2019 is going to be a very different vintage for grapes compared to prior years. The 2018 season saw a lot of rain, and with that, many challenges in the vineyard. Rain in excess causes grapes to swell with water and can dilute the nutrients that are vital to wine making. Overall, the wines from 2018 came out lighter in body compared to previous years, and yet they still have the flavor profile and aromas we wanted to see in the bottle!
Throughout this summer, we’ve had a substantially drier season, causing a much better fruit quality overall for our grapes. Thankfully, these will produce stronger wines that will have longer aging capabilities than last year. Here at Mount Ida we practice manual or hand harvesting, rather than mechanical. So in addition to a better season, we also are able to select the best clusters of grapes from our vines! Here’s to a happy harvest, and a wonderful 2019 vintage of wines!
