Napa Valley kicks off 2014 harvest

Napa Valley producers are hoping for a third bumper vintage in a row this year, as the region’s annual harvest gets underway.

Despite Napa experiencing one of the driest winters on record, the The Napa Valley Vintners Association (NVV) is predicting a third year of abundant, high quality yields.

Sparkling wine producers will start today, just two days earlier than last year, with Ludovic Dervin, winemaker for Mumm Napa, admitting the 2014 vintage could easily have gone awry.

“Late and very welcome spring rains set us up well in this otherwise dry year,” he said.

“Thanks to the long, moderately warm spring, even flowering, good fruit set and few heat spikes, we’re looking forward to bringing in some beautiful fruit and maybe even an above average yield.”

As reported by the drinks business the 2013 and 2014 vintages were two of the best in the regions history.

The NVV is inviting enthusiasts from anywhere in the world to follow the 2014 Napa harvest on it’s interactive web page and Facebook page over the coming weeks.

The nonprofit trade association will be posting live news posts contributed by winemakers, photos and quizzes over the coming months with activity tracked on Twitter using the #napaharvest.