Blessing the grapes at Rodney Strong Vineyards

The first load of grapes to be crushed for the 2003 harvest at
Rodney Strong Vineyards was sitting on the crush pad Friday
morning. Thirty seven tons of pinot noir grapes had just been
picked a few miles away at the Preston Ranch on Eastside Road,
their sugar levels perfect for harvest.
Dozens of workers milled around the crush pad in anticipation of
the annual blessing of the grapes ceremony, a religious rite
intended to bring on a successful and safe harvest for all
involved. But at the appointed hour, one important element was
missing: The priest.
At 10 minutes past 11, the Rodney Strong winemaker Rick Sayre
did what any good winemaker does when things don’t go just right
during harvest: He improvised.
He ordered the first load of grapes dumped into the crusher and
gathered the crowd around for a short speech and a prayer.
“Today marks the start of another harvest for Rodney Strong,”
said Sayre, explaining that the hillside pinot noir grapes were
picked at 24 percent sugar content and would go into Rodney
Strong’s Russian River Pinot.
“We thank you, Father, for the bounty of this harvest,” Sayre
intoned. “We ask that you bless our labors, bless our people, as
they carry out their work. We thank you for the opportunity to do
work and have joy in what we do. We thank you for the camaraderie
here, and thank you for blessing us with where we live, where we
can enjoy the fruits of our labor and the fruits of the vineyard
and for the freedom to worship as we wish.”
Sayre then asked Assistant Winemaker and Cellarmaster Mark
Romano to say a short prayer.
“We pray for the safety of the workers in the field and in the
winery Š as they work long hours,” said Romano. “Lord, we ask that
you be with our families as we are away from them in these long
hours.”
The first crush of grapes was celebrated with glasses of
sparkling wine.
At about 11:30 a.m., Father Manuel Chavez, assistant pastor at
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Windsor, arrived. Once again, the
crowd gathered around while Fr. Chavez blessed the grapes and the
harvest, and used a cluster of pinot noir grapes dipped in
sparkling wine to sprinkle holy water on the assembly.
Father Chavez’s small delay may be one of the few rests for
winemakers this harvest – especially if the weather heats up this
week. Sayre said nearly all the varietals – red & white
– appear to be ripening at the same time. “We have a lot of fruit
around 20-21 (sugar percentage),” he said “Š if we have some heat
next week, we’re going to be besieged.”
Typically, the white grape varieties ripen first, the chardonnay
and sauvignon blancs, followed by the red varieties, such as pinot
noir, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel. But because of an early bud
break that was followed by late rains, the ripening of the early
varietals slowed, and the ripening of the red varieties caught
up.
Sayre said that generally the crop loads appear to be on the
light side.
“It’s hard to predict the quality,” he said. “But it looks good
so far.”