Harvest Is Magical, But Work Is Grueling

David White

From the outside, winemaking seems romantic. Farm workers lovingly tend to their vineyards throughout the spring and summer, and then hand harvest their grapes in the early fall. Those grapes are then gently crushed — by foot, of course — and turn into wine on their own through the magic of fermentation.

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An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove

David White

Napa Valley accounts for less than 4 percent of America’s total wine production. Yet it’s the country’s best-known wine region.

Napa rocketed to the forefront of American winemaking in 1976, when British wine merchant Steven Spurrier organized a wine competition in Paris to pit California‘s best Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon against the [...]