The 20.4 tons of grapes were picked at 19° Brix and headed for Pernod-Ricard’s Mumm Napa in Rutherford, where they will eventually become part of Mumm’s Blanc de Noir sparkling wines. 

“The grapes are growing well because it hasn’t gotten too hot,” said vineyard manager Julie Nord, who added that the temperature has not gone above 93° F this summer at the estate. “The acids are holding nicely. It should be a great quality year.” 

Nord said that it was a light crop, about 2.5 tons per acre, though they expect 3 tons per acre for the Pinot Noir growing nearby. In the past, the vineyard has averaged 5 tons per acre. Nord’s husband, vineyard manager Don Clark, added that vines from other properties they own and manage in Napa Valley will probably have average or better yields, stating, “It depends when they set.” 

This year’s low yield comes in spite of minimal thinning. “Winemakers aren’t calling for as much thinning as they did,” Nord said. “In fact, some have told us not to thin at all because of the low yields expected.”

The harvest started a day later than 2015, but two or three weeks earlier than average, according to Mumm winemaker Ludovic Dervin, who hosted a blessing of the first grapes when they arrived at the winery with wine from a bottle he sabered. The winery employees also (almost) simultaneously uncorked warm 187 ml bottles of bubbly and sprayed each other.

More seriously, Dervin explained, “We had a lot of rain in the spring, which allowed the vines’ roots to penetrate well and create a good canopy. The vines didn’t have to work hard.” The soils are Haire loams with sand and gravel below 3 feet.

Dervin, a native of Champagne who’s been winemaker at Mumm since 2002, said the grapes were “perfect. The fruit tastes fantastic!”