Nearly everyone is finished with harvest, or will be by week’s end. A few growers, including Pat Stotesbery, are hoping the rains will go and stay away until November, but so far the rains haven’t hurt the hardy cabernet grapes with its thicker skins and looser clusters. More than one grower comments that 2007 wines will be fantastic.

Listed by AVAs (American Viticulture Areas), from north to south, the reports are as follows:

Calistoga (Suspended) — Paul Smith, OnThEdge Winery, “I spent the best part of Sunday suspended in Calistoga. After chatting with a few of our suspended growers and wandering about most of our suspended roadways, I am aware of only one block of cabernet which had yet to be picked. So it is my belief harvest activities in the Suspended Calistoga AVA will be suspended until 2008.”

Diamond Mountain District — Dawnine Dyer, Dyer Vineyards, “Last weekend saw a flurry of harvest activity on Diamond Mountain. Picking decisions shifted with the indisputable opening of the rainy season from ‘Why would I pick, if I can get any more development by waiting?’ to ‘What are we waiting for?’ Those sitting on the cusp took advantage of the window between rains to bring in what was ready. There is still a bit of fruit out and those that have made that choice seem sanguine. Speaking from first—hand experience, the fruit that came in over the weekend was in great shape.”

Howell Mountain — Pat Stotesbery, Ladera Vineyards, “Rain, rain, go away. A mantra everyone is singing. Nevertheless, the trucks have been rolling up and down the mountain this weekend as the sun showed up and ripening began anew. Amazing advances in ripening given the spotty warmth and sunshine, but enough that almost everyone is under way. There are ranches at 50 percent and there are those less complete. Everyone will pick around the showers this week. Fruit still looks wonderful and plant health is sufficient to hold the fruit until we all get to it.”

Chiles Valley District — Volker Eisele, Eisele Vineyards, “Last Tuesday and Friday produced a total of 1.3 inches of rain, enough to keep everybody out of the fields for a few days. Sunday and Monday picking resumed. Now only cabernet is left to be picked. All the zinfandel has been harvested successfully with good sugars and fine flavors, as have the other varieties.”

Spring Mountain District — Stuart Smith, Smith-Madrone Winery, “In the hopes of beating the rain and finishing harvest, there was a flurry of activity last week that is continuing this week despite the rain. Most growers and wineries are done, but there are a few with a significant percentage of grapes still hanging on the vine. The wine coming out of the fermentors is living up to the pre-harvest hype touted by so many growers.”

St. Helena — Remi Cohen, Merryvale Vineyards, “We are fortunate to have harvested all of our grapes prior to these initial significant rain events this season. Although a few wineries still have blocks of cabernet sauvignon left on the vines, cabernet can withstand moderate rainfall, due to its thick skins and this vintage’s small berries and loose clusters. This season Merryvale harvested most of our blocks two to three weeks earlier than in 2005 and 2006, with the vines showing beautiful fruit and tannin balance early in the season. The dry spring, early veraison and moderate temperatures produced moderate to low yields with exceptional tannins and color in reds and bright fruit flavors and texture in whites.”

Rutherford — Jeffrey Stambor, Beaulieu Vineyards, “In anticipation of this week’s cooler temperatures and higher probability of rain picking the remaining cabernet sauvignon grapes proceeded at full speed. As of the weekend there won’t be much in Rutherford unpicked. The young wines are fantastic — full of deep color and rich ripe tannins. The overall yields are down from last year but the fruit was just beautiful.”

Oakville — Pat Garvey, Flora Springs Winery, “We completed the cabernet harvest last week and the pH and acids were in perfect balance. We were only a few days off our projected harvest of Oct. 8, which put our bloom to harvest days at 141. Flavors and aromas were ideal. This year could be one of our best vintages.”

Yountville — Mitch Cosentino, Cosentino Winery, “Harvest in Yountville has for us, come to an end with excellent results. Colors, flavors and wines are all in great shape. There is a small amount of cabernet still hanging which should be off in the next week. The rains, for the most part, have not affected the grapes still out there. Yountville once again has provided excellent wines for another vintage.”

Stags Leap District — Elizabeth Vianna, Chimney Rock Winery, “As the old saying goes: ‘Be careful what you wish for.’ We’ve been chomping at the bit to pick our glorious cabernet sauvignon, and our patience has finally paid off! This has been a very busy week at Chimney Rock, with so much fruit coming in there’s not much time to write a report. My fellow SLD winemakers Michelle Edwards, Stacy Clark and Kevin Morrisey all report they are finished harvesting at Cliff Lede, Pine Ridge and Stags Leap Winery, respectively. Here at Chimney Rock, we still have a few young vine blocks to come in, but will be done shortly. So right now it’s back to the vineyards!”

 Mount Veeder — Brian Nuss, Vinoce Vineyards, “Just came in from picking to send in the harvest report. We finished picking the lower vineyard today, Monday. Now we’re headed up to the higher elevations to get started on some cabernet. We still have over 25 tons out there. Wing Canyon finished their harvest last week and Kathy said everything is looking great. This rain is not going to help us out. We will need a few days of sunny weather to even get a crawler in the vineyard.”

Oak Knoll District —

From Stan Boyd, Boyd Family Vineyards, “Rain, rain go away, come back another day … in November. All of the merlot is finally in which is about nine days earlier than last year. The syrah is 60 percent in, also about 10 days earlier than 2006. We’re watching the cab franc and cabernet sauvignon very closely for signs of any fungus. Ideally, we would like to let the flavors develop another couple of weeks but don’t want to turn good grapes into bad ones. Any sign of fungus and it will be harvested immediately.”

 Jon Ruel, Trefethen Vineyards, “While the rain is creating hassles in terms of scheduling the picking, we are not very concerned about potential impacts on grape quality. We’ll be bringing the rest of the fruit in, all of which is cabernet, in the coming days well before mold or rot could develop. The quality of the vintage still appears excellent. Tasting the fermentations suggests wines with strong varietal character and great structure.”

Carneros — Lee Hudson, Hudson Vineyards, “This past week saw the completion of a near perfect harvest in Carneros. The threat of significant rain and the time being right we were as busy as we’ve been all harvest. As the last grapes are being picked we turn to a new year with great expectations of some spectacular 2007 wines. Overall it has been a lean, calm harvest and I believe the chardonnays, pinot noirs, merlots and syrahs from Carneros could prove to be bench mark wines. Until next year.”

Wild Horse Valley — John Newmeyer, Heron Lake Vineyard, “Done for the season.”