The Estero Bay News is printed by Casey Printing in King City. My daughter, Lynne and I, pass many vineyards along Highway 101 on our way to pick up the edition on publishing day. And, since there are never any signs of activity in the fields several questions come to mind, such as: How are the hundreds of acres of vineyards taken care of? When do the vineyards need to be harvested and how?
Following diligent research, I found the information I needed. Watering is done mostly by drip systems or by overhead sprinklers. A lot of the larger vineyards are farmed mechanically. The grapes are picked by machine in much larger vineyards. Most vineyards are harvested at night when it’s cool. Daytime heat can tax the fruit. The smaller vineyards are harvested by hand.
When are the vineyards harvested and how? White grapes come in first, in late August. Red grapes are harvested in late September/October. In the Southern Hemisphere, harvest begins in the spring.
The most interesting thing I discovered is that the San Bernabe Vineyard was created in 2004 as a result of a petition by Delicato Family Vineyards, whose 8,500 acres (3,440 ha) make it the largest in the world
The San Bernabe Ranch of 3700 acres of vineyards, located on the east side of Highway 101 south of King City, is part of the larger Monterey AVA (American Viticultural Area).
San Bernabe is located in the Salinas Valley, between the Salinas River on the east, and the Santa Lucia Mountains on the west. Reference: GoogleEarth
