Night Harvesting

In 1983, R.H. Phillips became the first vineyard in California to harvest at night, reflecting John and Karl Giguiere’s belief that the quality of their grapes would be higher if picked during the cool evening hours. That’s because cool, firm grapes are less likely to split, oxidize or ferment prematurely. The resulting wines have fresher, brighter flavors and crisper acidity.

But, there was one big challenge to harvesting at night: it was dark out there! Karl Giguiere came up with an ingenious solution. He borrowed an old tomato-picking cart from a neighboring farmer, taped some fluorescent office lights to it and powered them with a small generator. Presto! R.H. Phillips was night harvesting! When the brothers tasted their first night harvested wine, a Sauvignon Blanc, they were so delighted by its freshness and purity, they added the words “Night Harvest” to the label.

Today, night harvesting remains a magical time for our winemaking team and the linchpin of our winemaking process, as we continue to harvest all our estate fruit under the stars during the cool hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Thankfully, the winery’s night harvesting equipment has become more sophisticated over the years, and we’ve been able to retire the tomato cart!

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©2007 Night Harvest