Harvest 2021 Highlights
Fall is here! Like any other winery around the country, the busiest time of the year is during harvest. As we are wrapping up the season here at Quady, we wanted to share some of the challenges and successes that have been happening around the winery.
We took the opportunity to talk to Darin Peterson, our winemaker, about this season. He explains, “One of the most obvious challenges is that we are on COVID-19 restrictions, the previous harvest was the first and this was the second one.”
Darin Peterson, Head Winemaker
With the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting all kinds of industries, it’s been a challenge procuring the materials we need when we need them. “What you would expect to be on a normal shelf, they might not have because of shortages. If they need to order it, good luck, because it might take 3 or 4 weeks to arrive and at crush that’s really difficult. We rely on those vendors to have supplies when we need them.” Closer to home, we’ve had to depend on our team to tackle all the protocols needed to keep a safe working environment.
For Darin, he’s been happy working with the team during this harvest. “It’s been great seeing people grow and take on new challenges and expand their skill sets. For example, I never would’ve thought that Cole (winemaker assistant) would be leading in our expansion project, he’s been doing a great job.”
Dan Mejia, Production Manager
Another great example is our Production Manager, Dan, who’s a seasoned expert on pressing ports. He works alongside the winemakers. Darin states “His knowledge on pressing ports have allowed him to tell when we have good grapes or bad grapes just by looking at them.” This is key for the team, as they can work on new strategies on how they will handle the grapes in the moment and in the future. He also adds that this year “we got really good grapes and a lot of good juice to work with.”
Darin ends this harvest with a positive note, “we have learned more about ourselves and what we can handle. Our personnel are becoming more refined and are working together more as a team. We have another year of experience under our belt.” At the end of the day, it’s all about teamwork, and the results speak for themselves.
Jesus Romero, Quady Crew Member