Hand crews are used on Shannon Ridge Winery's mountainside Morine Ranch above Clearlake Oaks. Photo by Rick Gunier.
CLEARLAKE OAKS – Lake County's winegrape harvest doesn't usually get started until September, but on Friday winegrape picking started in the south county.
As the sun came up Friday Crews starting harvesting grapes at Shannon Ridge's vineyards in Clearlake Oaks, said Rick Gunier of Shannon Ridge.
Gunier said this may be the first winegrape harvesting in Lake County so far this year.
The first varietal to be picked was Sauvignon Blanc from the Morine Ranch vineyard above Clearlake Oaks, Gunier said.
Lake County has 8,800 bearing winegrape acres, according to Shannon Gunier, executive director of the Lake County Winegrape Commission, who happens to be married to Rick Gunier.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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As the sun came up harvest crews were already picking Shannon Ridge's Sauvignon Blanc, one of the first vineyards to begin picking this year's winegrapes. Photo by Rick Gunier.
Vineyard manager Celestino Castaneda jumps in the bin for up-close inspection of the first bin to be harvested. Photo by Rick Gunier.
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