Harvest Updates Archives

Winter Dormancy in Napa Valley Vineyards | Flora Springs

December 18, 2024

The Winter Solstice Signals Longer Days Ahead

Winter in Wine Country In the winter months, vineyards in Wine Country enter a period of dormancy, with grapevines shedding their leaves and resting...

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The Autumn Equinox in Napa Valley Vineyards | Flora Springs Napa Valley

September 18, 2024

The Shift of The Seasons — We Welcome the Autumn Equinox

The Autumn Equinox The Autumn Equinox, also known as the fall equinox, occurs around September 22 or 23 in the Northern Hemisphere. It marks the...

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Springtime in the Vineyards | Flora Springs Napa Valley

March 25, 2024

Springtime in Napa Valley & The Benefits of Bees

Spring is springing in napa valley In the springtime, Napa Valley’s vineyards transform into a picturesque landscape bursting with life and...

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November 7, 2022

John Komes on His 44th Napa Valley Harvest

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said John Komes, speaking about the 2022 harvest. He should know, he’s been through 44 of them!...

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October 15, 2022

Night Harvest

by Nat Komes, Flora Springs General Manager When our family founded Flora Springs in the late 1970s, harvest was a family affair, with relatives and...

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May 30, 2022

We Have a Thirst for Conserving Water

When you live in California, you understand deep down that water is a precious resource. Periodic droughts have been a fact of life here for decades...

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April 14, 2022

The 2022 Growing Season Is Underway

It’s springtime in Napa Valley as we enter the height of another growing season. All of our estate vineyards in Napa Valley went through bud break...

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July 29, 2021

In the Vineyards

With harvest just around the corner we thought we’d take you through a pictorial of the 2021 growing season so far. Though we have yet to bring our...

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June 20, 2019

Vineyard Update from Winemaker Paul Steinauer

In Napa Valley this time of year, you’re likely to see vineyard crews scattered amongst the vines. “What are they doing,” you ask? They are...

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October 10, 2018

Harvest 2018: Update #3 from Winemaker Paul Steinauer

Looking out across the Flora Springs Estate on this warm and sunny day, one would never know that fires were ravaging through parts of the Napa...

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September 18, 2018

Harvest 2018: Update #2 from Winemaker Paul Steinauer

Tuesday, September 18th, 2018 was a day of “firsts” at Flora Springs: the first day we harvested Chardonnay as well as the first day of...

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Cabernet Sauvignon Going Through Veraison

August 17, 2018

Winery & Vineyard Update from Winemaker Paul Steinauer: Harvest 2018

Well it’s that time of year again when we start thinking about the upcoming harvest. In the winery we are just finishing up the last of the...

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May 2, 2018

Vineyard and Winery Update from Paul Steinauer

The cool and rainy spring slowed the start of the growing season at all of the Flora Springs ranches. Bud break started several weeks later than the...

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February 22, 2018

The 2017 Vintage: Quality and Resilience

We’re excited to release our first wine from the 2017 vintage, our 2017 Napa Valley Pinot Grigio. 2017 was a momentous year in Napa Valley, and we...

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September 8, 2017

Winemaker Update 2017 #4

We have officially picked all of our Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc for the year. We started the Pinot Grigio on August 15th, and finished the...

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September 1, 2017

Flora Springs Featured in the Weekly Calistogan: Napa Valley Harvest Reports for 2017

Note: The following was excerpted from an article written by David Stoneberg and published in The Weekly Calistogan. The full article can be found...

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July 21, 2017

Vineyard Update by John Komes

by John Komes Over that past few weeks our vineyards have been abuzz with activity. As farmers, our family constantly tends to the vineyards...

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March 24, 2017

Winemaker Update 2017 #1: Bud Break!

“Well, it’s that time of year again – The drought appears to be behind us, at least for the moment. Since the New Year, we have...

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October 11, 2016

Harvest 2016 Update #5

“Well, we just concluded harvest 2016! We started the harvest on Aug 16th picking Pinot Grigio in the Oak Knoll appellation, and we just...

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October 5, 2016

Harvest 2016 Update #4

“Well, Mother Nature once again threw us a bit of a curve ball – We experienced 3 days around 100F, then it cooled off and actually had some...

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Harvest Update 2016 #3: Sauvignon Blanc Fermentation

September 1, 2016

Harvest 2016 Update #3

“We started our first day of harvest on Aug 16, 2016 with our Pinot Grigio, then segued into our Sauvignon Blanc on Aug 19, and completed our...

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August 16, 2016

Harvest 2016 Update #2

“We harvested our first grapes today – Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio from a distance looks more like a red grape than a white grape, but...

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July 15, 2016

Harvest 2016 Update #1

“This is from a block of Merlot in the Komes Ranch vineyard at the Flora Springs Estate and these grapes go into the Trilogy blend. Based on...

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September 29, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #10

“This week we plan to wrap up harvest in Oakville and all the other AVAs we grow fruit in, too. We will be picking our last two Oakville...

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September 25, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #9

“I was cluster sampling some chardonnay at our Lavender Hill vineyard this morning. Crazy year! We are 90% complete with harvest, with only 5...

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September 10, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #8

“Things in Oakville are busy, busy, busy. Weather like this (HOT) limits hang time. Grape sugar levels can get out of hand, and even...

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September 2, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #7

“This week we started picking chardonnay in Oakville. Although our merlot has ripened to a good sugar level, we are waiting for secondary...

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September 1, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #6

“Today is the first day of harvesting red grapes – and I believe the first time in the winery’s history that red grapes have been...

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August 26, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #5

“This week we are in something of a lull. We are finishing up our sauvignon blanc harvest in Oakville, but nothing else is ready for picking...

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August 20, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #4

“Our Oakville harvest begins this week with sauvignon blanc, which is always the first grape to be picked for still wine. With most blocks and...

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August 19, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #3 – And so it begins!

Assistant Winemake Enrico Bertoz brings in the first grapes of Harvest...

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August 5, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #2

“We are seeing much lower yields overall in the vineyards this year. This may be attributed to the sporadic spring weather we experienced, but...

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June 9, 2015

Harvest 2015 Update #1

“During flowering it is not unusual to have some clusters on the same vine more advanced than others. However, the less mature clusters...

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September 25, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #13

“Harvest continues at a furious pace. We are trying to pick all of our more thin-skinned varieties like chardonnay and malbec before more rain...

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September 22, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #12: Merlot Pump Over

Join Winemaker Paul Steinauer as he explains what’s happening when we do a pump over with our...

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September 16, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #11

“Harvest is in full swing up and down the valley. This week we are picking chardonnay and pinot grigio in our Oakville vineyard. This is...

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September 10, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #10

“A return to mild weather after last week’s heat spike has given wineries a chance to harvest mature grapes before overly ripe sugar levels...

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September 4, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #9: A Grape’s Journey

Join Winemaker Paul Steinauer as the Flora Springs team brings in the first red wine grapes of the 2014...

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September 3, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #8

“This week most wineries, Flora Springs included, are back in a more normal harvest mode, although many farther down valley have had to get...

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August 27, 2014

Harvest Update #7: Earthquake Edition

“This past weekend’s events ensured that the 2014 vintage will be especially memorable. I hope that in five years when I open a bottle of...

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August 21, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #6

“This week we began our harvest with Oakville sauvignon blanc. We are slightly ahead of where we were last year at this time and about 10 days...

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August 18, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #5

And it begins! “We have harvested grapes from our Oakville Crossroads Vineyard, Block H1 (Soliloquy Clone) into 1/2 ton picking bins –...

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August 14, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #4

“Grapes have turned from a fluorescent green to yellow/gold – Indicating that harvest is just around the corner – Flavors are terrific –...

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August 12, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #3

“Oakville sauvignon blanc is getting sweeter by the day. Winemaker Paul Steinhauer…plans on harvesting some Oakville SB this month, if not...

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August 5, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #2

“Oakville is currently pretty quiet, although the grapes are ripening at a furious pace, or at least that’s how it feels. Oakville sauvignon...

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July 13, 2014

Harvest 2014 Update #1

“As veraison nears completion, and continued warm sunny days advance ripening we may see a start to the picking of the Pinot Grigio, and...

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