In collaboration with The Napa Valley Vintners, The Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ annual Harvest Press Conference delivers one of the most anticipated conversations of the year — a real-time look at how the vintage unfolded across the valley. This season’s discussion reveals a clear theme: a vintage worth waiting for, when patience was rewarded.

Meet the Panelists: this year’s panel brought together some of Napa Valley’s most respected voices in winemaking and viticulture. Their insights paint a vivid picture of how growers and winemakers navigated a year defined by precision, timing, and trust in the vineyard. Moderated by Jonathan Cristaldi, veteran wine journalist who writes for Decanter, Cristaldi & Co., Somm Journal, and Tasting Panel.

Together, these panelists reflect the resilience and shared commitment that define our agricultural community, especially in a year where every decision mattered.

Hear directly from the experts who shaped this remarkable season. Their firsthand observations capture the nuance, discipline, and collaboration behind the 2025 harvest. ​As we celebrate this year’s accomplishments, we also honor the people: growers, farmworkers, winemakers, and partners, who ensure Napa Valley continues to thrive. Their dedication is what transforms a challenging year into a vintage worth waiting for.

In this episode of Grown in Napa Valley, guest host Jonathan Cristaldi presents highlights from the 2025 Napa Valley Harvest Press Conference, presented by the Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Napa Valley Vintners,  joined by growers and winemakers Ashton Leutner, Mayan Koschitzky, Nate Weis, and Megan Gunderson. They unpack a cooler, steady 2025 growing season shaped by early rains, slow canopy development, minimal heat spikes, and strong fruit set. With phenolic ripeness outpacing sugar accumulation, the panel notes vibrant color, natural acidity, and balanced alcohol across the vintage.

They discuss the year’s key challenges — elevated mildew pressure and a stop-and-start harvest caused by intermittent rain — and share how tight spray intervals, spore-trap monitoring, and thoughtful canopy work helped maintain fruit quality. Market shifts also left some fruit unharvested, creating an opening for growers to redevelop vineyards, adjust crop loads, and focus on long-term soil and plant health.
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The conversation turns to the Pickett Fire, which produced highly localized smoke impacts. Thanks to improved air-quality tools and advanced ETS smoke-taint testing, growers were able to assess risk with far more precision than in past fire years. Early takeaways from the panel point to a distinctive, expressive 2025 vintage — wines with strong color, refined tannins, and clear AVA character — underscoring a maturing Napa Valley rooted in adaptation, stewardship, and continuous learning.

• “Patience was rewarded this year. Moderate alcohols, more acidity… it’s going to be a classic Napa style we haven’t seen in a while.” - Nate Weis
  
• “Napa is maturing. We’re finally trusting our sites and our vintages — showcasing why each year is different instead of trying to make everything the same.” - Mayan Koschitzky 
  
• “This was an ideal year for extended maceration. With lower seed tannin, we could sit on the skins longer without getting bitterness — the wines are beautiful.” - Ashton Leutner
  
• “In a cooler vintage, the differences between our growing regions are much more apparent — 2025 has real distinction across the valley.” - Megan Gunderson 
  
• “I hope future listeners see this as a snapshot — a time capsule of how the 2025 growing season truly unfolded.” - Jonathan Cristaldi