In the Heart of the Wine Harvest

	Pick Your Own
	Photo: Ferrari-Carano

Editor's Note: The following article by Heather Morgan Shott was originally posted on Wine Spectator's Web site. It is being republished here with permission.

Harvest is the most thrilling time to visit wine country, and you don't have to be a winemaker to be part of the buzz.

From Napa to New York, anyone can help winery crews in the vineyard or the winery, from picking and sorting grapes to blending and tasting the wines as they go into barrel.

Those who prefer partying to hard labor can celebrate the new wines with formal dinners, live music, tastings and much more, in Canada's Okanagan Valley, Washington's Columbia Valley, Oregon's Willamette Valley, New York's Finger Lakes, California's Paso Robles area and beyond.

Winery Work: Get Your Feet Dirty

Napa, Calif. If you've ever dreamed of making sparkling wine, here's your chance. At Schramsberg's "Camp Schramsberg," you'll harvest grapes with winemakers Hugh Davies and Craig Roemer at sunrise before heading indoors to learn how grapes are pressed, alcohol levels are measured and fermentation works. The next day, a series of tastings help demonstrate the importance of the blending and aging processes in producing sparkling wine. You'll disgorge a bottle that has already been aged, add the final dosage and learn how to cork, label and seal it.

Beyond the hard labor, there's food-and-wine pairing sessions at the Culinary Institute of America and tours of the winery's 19th-century caves. The 2007 fall camp is sold out, but space is available for next autumn (Sept. 7-9, 2008) and for the spring camp focusing on blending (March 9-11, 2008). Rates are $995 per person, including some meals.

Sonoma, Calif. For an intensive tutorial in winemaking, head to one of Sonoma County's most opulent wineries, Ferrari-Carano. Vineyard director Steve Domenichelli will teach you how to pick, sort and taste grapes, followed by lessons on the punch-down process and inoculating tanks with yeast. You'll also taste juice during each stage of the process, noting how it evolves into wine.

Downtime brings a multicourse lunch with wine and dinner with Ferrari-Carano's winemakers, Aaron Piotter and Sarah Quider, at John Ash & Co. Offered Sept. 21-23, 2007, and Sept. 12-14, 2008. Rates are $1,250 per couple, including a two-night stay at Vintners Inn; ask for the Harvest Wine Country Weekend package.