As the Hess Collection Winery celebrated its blessing of the grapes Tuesday, winemaker Dave Guffy said, “I don’t want to jinx anything but this year has the look of what could be a nearly perfect year.”

Sergio Robledo, the vineyard manager,  said harvest is ahead of schedule for the mountainous vineyards of Hess in the Mt. Veeder appellation. Also known as the “master of the mountain,” Robledo said his crews are at work harvesting sauvginon blanc grapes, and there is a possibility they may finish bringing in their red wine grapes by Halloween, an usual circumstance in an area where harvest has been known to go on up until Thanksgiving.

“It would be nice to be able to go out trick or treating with my kids — or having a glass of wine with neighbors while my kids are trick or treating — and not to have to be harvesting the next day,” Guffy said.

Like many others around the valley, Guffy, who has been director of winemaking at Hess for nine years, is optimistic about the quality of the grapes.

“Mother Nature has been so kind this year,” Guffy said. “We had a perfect set, perfect even temperatures... Of course,” he added, “the proof is in the glass.”

Brother Jerome Gallegos, from Mont La Salle, which is adjacent to Hess, gave the blessing as workers gathered around a bin of sauvignon blanc grapes. Other Christian Brothers were also on hand for the annual event.

“It’s one of the few times we are all together,” said Hess president Tom Selfridge.