Flora Springs Archives - Wine Country Getaways

Harvest Activity in the Napa Valley – Cab is left

It is the first day of Fall in Napa Valley wine country. The over 100-degree weather on the Labor Day Weekend hastened the harvest of many vineyards. Despite the intense heat, there are plenty of grapes still to be harvested in the Napa Valley. Since those hot days, the weather has shifted to cooler than average temperatures, slowing down the harvest. It is mostly Cabernet Sauvignon left to be harvested, but I did also spot some Cabernet Franc and Syrah on the vine. I shot this photo near the Flora Springs Winery in the St. Helena AVA on Zinfandel Lane. The Cabernet Sauvignon grapes look gorgeous and ready to be picked. If you want to catch the harvest in the Napa Valley, time is getting short. This coming weekend might be the last hurrah. Head towards the northern end of the Valley. Look in the early morning hours of the day to spot the rush of harvester furiously working to get the grapes off the vine.

Most wine tourists traveling north on Highway 29 just before St. Helena will spot Flora Springs Tasting Room because of its unusual architectural design. It is also right next door to the famed Dean & Deluca deli. This tasting room is a very convenient place to taste all the very good Flora Springs wines but we have a better idea. It is much more fun to visit Flora Springs working winery just a mile away on West Zinfandel Lane. This is where it all is happening at what is perhaps one of Napa’s most underrated wineries.

Flora Springs’ first vintage was 1978, which is considered to be the early days of the Napa Valley wine world. Jerome Komes, the CEO of Bechtel Corporation at the time, established the winery and it is now in its third generation of ownership and management. There were many advantages to starting out early in the Napa Valley, particularly land, which was inexpensive in those times. Today, Flora Springs is the third largest vineyard owner in the Napa Valley with 650 acres of vineyards. The winery uses only 20% of their vines to produce a total of 50,000 cases of wine per year. The other 80% of grapes from their vineyards are sold off to some 40 wineries.