April 2023: Spring Harvest

Supporting Colorado Agriculture with Spring Fermentations

“When is the grape harvest?” This is a popular (and loaded) question that I encounter during the year as I visit with our Vino Salida fans. Technically, the grapes are harvested at the end of the Spring/Summer growing season, between August and November. However, as a winemaker, I define the word “Harvest” as the time of year that I ferment wine. Traditionally, grapes ripen, are picked, then crushed, pressed and fermented into wine. This is the basic answer. Nevertheless, at Vino Salida, we actually have a Winter/Spring “Harvest” as well…

Firstly, let’s get familiar with the Colorado grape growing season as it unfolds. The vines, after being dormant all winter, will need to wake up as the weather warms the earth, water and air. When this happens, the vines will start pushing from the buds that were set in the autumn. Colorado’s bud break happens in April and May. Each bud will produce a grape flower cluster and will need to be pollinated before the grape berries begin to develop. Soon, there will be bright green berries that develop and grow during the summer, utilizing the roots and leaves to power their growth. In August, the grapes will start turning darker colors as sugars start to form and acidity starts to decline. When the grapes become packed with sugar and the acidity is in balance, they are picked and shipped to wine cellars around Colorado for fermentation.

Grapes harvest quantities in Colorado are at the whim of Mother Nature. Since 2002, through drought years, rainy seasons, and Autumn/Winter cold events, I’ve seen years that I couldn’t source grapes from Colorado (grapes are “short”) and years that have brought massive tonnage to a State that only has 170 small wineries (grapes are “long”). In short years, I have sourced grapes from Washington State or California just to have enough wine to sell and keep the doors open. However, my primary grape grower, Talbott Farms, has developed an ingenious way to “extend” the harvest in a long year. If they haven’t sold all their grapes for the current harvest, they will crush, press and freeze them!

This is a phenomenal development for Colorado’s Wine Industry and especially for Vino Salida. We are a small winery with limited tank & barrel space. Last Autumn, I wasn’t able to ferment enough grapes to get through the next 9 to 24 months because of limited tank space. I ordered the maximum quantity to fill all available space. Then, with all tanks full, I started bottling wines from Harvest 2021 to free up tank space. With space open and still needing more wine to sell, I was able to bring in Talbott frozen grapes (supporting Colorado Agriculture!) and ferment in Winter/Spring 2023. This has been a wonderfully creative solution for Vino Salida two-fold: we will have enough Colorado wine to sell, and I am able hone my craft by practicing fermentation skills.

“That’s all fine and good, Steve, but do frozen grapes produce great wines? They have to be mediocre at best.” No. Just the opposite. Because they are processed fast and fresh, then frozen immediately, they actually produce magnificent, award-winning wines. Case in point: in February 2020, after a vine-damaging freeze in October 2019, I brought in frozen Tempranillo grapes from 2017, fermented them, aged them for 14 months in Kentucky oak barrels, and entered the resulting wine into the 2022 Colorado Governor’s Cup. The 2017 Tempranillo won a Double Gold Medal, placing in the top 12 wines judged from 300+ wines! An amazing victory for Colorado Agriculture.

I have been blessed. I’ve participated in 21 Autumn harvests in Colorado, and now I’m finishing my third Spring harvest, with my 25th coming again in September! It’s been a fun ride learning my craft. Through the challenging disasters and the triumphant victories, I have come out feeling extremely comfortable with my passion of producing tasty wine. Many thanks to Talbott Farms for the opportunity to practice Spring Harvest over the last three years. Salute!