​Nighttime Harvest picks kept crews cool. Photo by SOMM TV

Katherine Martine, Wine Business

​Good growing season conditions and weather leading to a slightly earlier harvest in Napa Valley has vintners excited about the 2024 vintage with some saying the stars are aligning, it's a “pretty awesome vintage” and others noting that optimal harvest conditions means wines, such as Chandon’s sparkling, will be extremely balanced and bright.  
Those were some of the sentiments expressed by four Napa winemakers who convened for a virtual harvest press conference organized by Napa Valley Grapegrowers and Napa Valley Vintners on Oct. 24. 
The four winemaker panelists included Vineyard Manager Matt Stornetta, Stornetta Made Farming; Farm Collective/Tank Garage Winemaker Bertus van Zyl; Senior Director of Winemaking, Richie Allen of Rombauer Vineyards; and CHANDON Director of Winemaking, Pauline Lhote.
Despite some heat waves at the end of June and into early July—Stornetta counted nearly 30 to 40 days above 100 F, a big difference from years past especially 2023 when there were maybe eight to 10 days of over 100-degree heat—nice soil moisture and vegetative growth helped vines cope with warm temperatures. 

Cornell Barnard, ABC7news

​In the North Bay, Napa Valley grape growers are taking stock of this year's harvest. Many winemakers are giving the 2024 vintage a thumbs up despite some challenging growing conditions, like almost 40 days of 100-degree heat.

It's the last day of grape pressing at Rombauer Vineyards in St. Helena. A purple rain of fruit from the 2024 harvest was being collected Thursday by senior winemaker, Richie Allen and his crew.

"Here is Cabernet from St. Helena, we can tell by the aroma it's a high-quality lot. It has the right amount of extract and tannin we want," said Allen.

Jess Durate, Napa Valley Register

Napa Valley grape growers say a wet winter and advanced viticultural practices helped local vineyards thrive during an unusually hot growing season.
Growers shared their perspectives on the 2024 vintage during the Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ and Napa Valley Vintners’ joint harvest press conference on Thursday.

Matt Stornetta, vineyard manager of Stornetta Made Vineyards Management, counted 38 to 40 days with temperatures of 100 degrees or more, up from eight to 10 days in 2023.
Soil moisture and healthy canopy growth helped the vines withstand the heat, according to Pauline Lhote, winemaking director at Chandon. It helped that the July heat wave hit before veraison, the beginning of grape ripening, thus limiting grapes’ susceptibility to heat damage.
Winemaker Bertus van Zyl of Farm Collective said the early heat wave “set the trend for the season” and primed the vines to endure subsequent hot weather. “The vines looked fine,” he said.
Aside from soil moisture, smart farming practices were a major factor in the vines' success.
Stornetta said no-till floor management dramatically reduces temperatures, although it’s not suitable for all soil types. Van Zyl pointed to drought-tolerant rootstocks.

​Napa, CA (October 11, 2024) – Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) and Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) will present a joint 2024 Harvest Press Conference on Thursday, October 24th. The press conference will be conducted live via Zoom, beginning at 9:30am PT. 
Moderated by Kelli White, Director of Education for The Wine Center at Meadowood Napa Valley, panelists include winemaker Bertus van Zyl of Farm Collective, vineyard manager Matt Stornetta of Stornetta Made Vineyards Management, senior director of winemaking Richie Allen of Rombauer Vineyards, and winemaking director Pauline Lhote of CHANDON. Panelists will deliver up to date, first-hand insights about the 2024 growing season, with an emphasis on the overall characteristics and quality of the vintage along with issues facing the wine and grape-growing community specific to the Napa Valley. Following the presentation, panelists will be available to take questions from the online audience.  

KTVU, Allie Rasmus , Amanda Quintana and Kayla Galloway

In Napa, residents will see temperatures in the 90s on Thursday. Besides the obvious impact of hot weather, increasing temperatures can also affect the grape harvest. 
"This heat wave has certainly accelerated the tail end of harvest to where, earlier on, we had some cooler temperatures and everything was going kind of slow and controlled in a great pace. It's accelerated a little bit," said Caleb Mosely, executive director of Napa Valley Grape Growers. "So we're certainly seeing this is one of the busier weeks of harvest thus far."
He says resiliency is key for grapes during hot weather. 
"We plant the vineyard to create a resilient, resilient system for this particular type of heat event. So the cool nights help out exceptionally because they allow the vines to kind of recover the turgidity of the berry," he said.