Autumn is here and that means harvest season in Napa Valley. To toast the moment, we spoke with renowned Cardinale winemaker Chris Carpenter to learn more about what the season entails, his favorite part of the process and—of course—what theme song best represents this year’s harvest.
This special Q&A is brought to you in partnership with Spire Collection and The Agency Magazine’s Summer Edition.
If your travels lead to Napa Valley this fall, be sure to reach out to the Cardinale team directly to book a tasting and experience at their hilltop estate in Oakville. For more information, visit Cardinale.com.
A view of the Cardinale Estate in Napa Valley.
Q&A with Cardinale Winemaker Chris Carpenter
What does harvest usually look like? What’s the process?
Controlled chaos. This is the culmination of a year of farming and shepherding grapes through the ripening season. It all happens within a two-month period, so it’s picking and processing grapes, moving a lot of people, delivery trucks, fermentations, pressing, and sending the wine to barrels—all through different levels of timing, all at once. The kind of precision a Swiss watchmaker utilizes to create their product, we put into creating ours.
How is this upcoming harvest looking?
It looks like it will be a late harvest as temperatures haven’t been cooperative. That said, the health of the vines and the quality of the fruit looks outstanding.
What’s your favorite part of the harvest season?
The chaos! There is an energy and a pace that is all-consuming. It’s like riding a 15-foot wave and being on the edge of getting slammed but owning it nonetheless.
How do the variables of the harvest season impact the wine’s flavors? Are there any flavors or tasting notes you expect/we can anticipate from this year’s harvest?
It’s all about the weather, and how light and heat develop the flavors and balance the tannins, acid and sugar. Wine is an agricultural product so it’s dependent on the weather to a much greater degree than our brothers and sisters in spirits and beer. We only have this one shot per year to do it right and if Mother Nature doesn’t come along for the ride, we are left high and dry. As for specific flavors this year, you’d have to ask me again when the grapes are in. But cooler weather and more hang time can work in our favor in terms of elegance.
Do you have a go-to meal during harvest?
When it’s harvest, I’m lucky to get a burrito from La Luna Taqueria at lunch to make it through the day before I stumble home late at night, eat what my family is having, and slip off to bed.
Do you have a typical harvest celebration tradition once the final grapes have been picked?
I am a Guinness stout drinker, so when the final grapes make their way across the sorting table we crack the sparkling wine and I hoist a Guinness, say a few words, and enjoy the moment.
If you had to choose a theme song for this year’s harvest, what would it be?
We do honor each harvest with a song that is usually a reflection of some theme or moment in the harvest. A line from that song will be the subject of our harvest T-shirt. The Rolling Stones, Louis Prima, Led Zeppelin, Martha and the Vandellas, Tom Petty and many others have graced us with their words and spirit on our harvest tees over the years. It is way too early to anoint this harvest with a song as of yet, and would definitely be bad karma even attempting to. Check in with me in December on this one!
For more information about Cardinale’s wines, visit Cardinale.com.
