Mumm Napa, pinot noir, wine harvest
Pinot Noir grapes roll in to Mumm Napa Valley's Game Farm winery marking the start of the 2015 wine harvest.
(Image credit: Napa Valley Vintners)

It is barely the last week of July and the first grapes of the 2015 Napa wine harvest have already been picked by Mumm in the region.

Only 12 tonnes of Pinot Noir grapes for sparkling wine were picked by Mumm Napa on 22 July, but that was enough to ensure the 2015 Napa wine harvest goes down as one of the earliest for several years.

Mumm Napa Valley, 2015 harvest

Mumm Napa Valley’s Ludovic Dervin sabres a bottle to mark the start of the 2015 harvest.
(Image credit: Credit Unknown)

‘We sprinkle it on the grapes in the first press load,’ he was quoted as saying on the Napa Valley Vintners trade body website. ‘It celebrates the end of a cycle in the vineyard.’

Although the bulk of the Napa harvest is still believed to be some way off, the 2015 start date for sparkling is the earliest for at least seven years.

The Napa 2014 wine harvest was also early, beginning on 30 July. Grapes for sparkling wines are always the first to be picked.

Many vineyards were still in the latter stages of ripening, as several producers tweeted this week, including Joseph Phelps Vineyards and Duckhorn Vineyards.

The harvest for white grapes, beginning with Sauvignon Blanc, is set to begin more broadly in early August, said Napa Valley Vintners.

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.