Overmountain Vineyards 2016 vintage is one step closer to the bottle with the recent completion of harvest season. This year, between our own grapes and purchases made from Rockhouse Vineyards, OMV processed 52,000 pounds of grapes equating to approximately 1,800 cases of wine, although most of that won’t be ready for consumption until 2018.

Many people don’t realize what goes into getting the grapes from the vineyard to the bottle or the labor intensity of harvest. All the grapes grown at Overmountain Vineyards are hand picked. Typically a harvest day begins at 6 a.m. As the grapes come off the vine, they are immediately taken to the winery where they are destemmed and extensively sorted until early evening. The harvest season lasts approximately six weeks and the farmers are at the mercy of Mother Nature as to when the grapes need to be picked. It is a grueling yet bountiful time of year.

In addition to the annual seasonal harvest crew, this year Overmountain invited their guests to help harvest.

“It truly adds a new facet to the appreciation when drinking Overmountain wines after you help harvest the grapes,” says Mindy Wiener. Taking into consideration that one glass of wine equates to about 630 grapes and one cluster is approximately 79 grapes, that means about 40 clusters need to be picked just to equal one bottle of wine.

Overmountain Vineyards and Winery grows five varietals of vinifera. Four are red (Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Merlot) and one is white (Petit Manseng). These constitute 17 of the 70-acre farm owned by the Lilly family in Green Creek. To supplement their estate-grown grapes, Overmountain Vineyards also purchases other varietals such as Chardonnay and Viognier from neighboring vineyards.

Celebrate the end of our 2016 harvest:
Annual Harvest Fest
October 1, 4-8 p.m.
Entertainment by Mac Arnold
Low Country Boil Supper
Tickets at Eventbrite
828-863-0523

 

-Submitted by Mindy Wiener