At Naked, taking you inside the winery is kind of our thing. But this month, we’re going further and bringing you all the action from the frontlines of winemaking: the picking, pressing and tasting at 4am, the well-earned rewards at the end of the day, and the giant blow-outs at the end of the season.
Make yourself comfortable.
Nothing like a father-daughter duo
Like Stephen Millier, Aussie-in-California Daryl Groom’s 2026 harvest is his earliest ever.
But this one is different for another reason – Daryl’s working the vines with his daughter, Kara, also a winemaker.
They are in a rhythm: grape sampling for one another to check sugar content, sharing the vineyard inspections.
“We each walk separate rows and take our own samples then compare. If similar, we know it’s correct.”
On August 17th they reckoned they had another week until go time. Watch this space.
Check out Daryl’s post here.
Daryl Groom and his daughter share a shot from harvest 2026, following a vineyard inspection during which they tested the sugar levels of grapes ripening ahead of picking.
All’s quiet (ish) in the Southern Hemisphere
While the Northern Hemisphere is picking and pressing, on the opposite side of the world it’s quiet – and cold – according to Kiwi winemaker Nicky Parish.
The vines are dormant but the winemakers? Far from it. This is “the moment we get to shape what's coming rather than just react to it,” she says.
“Everything that happens later… starts from the choices made out here in the quiet, in the cold, right now.”
Kicking off Naked Sonoma’s second harvest
It’s usually my three-year-old daughter who's giddy at the sound and sight of heavy duty machinery. But a few weeks ago that was 39-year-old me.
I was lucky enough to visit Naked Sonoma in mid-August, and even luckier that the trip coincided with the early days of harvest in California.
On my final day, a parcel of grapes was due to arrive in the winery where Naked is based. (It will never not be cool that the office is in a winery.)
With about half an hour until I absolutely had to leave, the grapes landed. With hi-vis donated by a colleague (thanks, Sarah!) I did an awkward run-jog across the car park, and watched the whole thing unfold, from forklift to crushpad to tank.
(And yes, I was a little late to check-in at the airport.)
Read our CEO Maza’s account from Sonoma, including Scott Peterson’s bucket of Sangria served with a side of jazz-funk. – Clare S
Maza at Naked Sonoma
A 51st and earliest ever harvest
In September 1975, Pink Floyd released Wish You Were Here, the Pope canonised the first American-born saint, and Stephen Millier got his first harvest under his belt. Fifty-one years later, Stephen is still crushing, but things are getting going much earlier, on a record-beating August 6th – bumping Stephen’s summer holiday off the calendar.
First up, 2 tonnes of Calaveras County Semillon, and lots and lots of chatter about the weather.
As Stephen says: “Our whole industry is dependent on the weather we get. Our daily temperatures are nearly 100 Fahrenheit (nearly 38 celsius). They’re not ideal, but what else can you do but talk about them.”
F. Stephen Millier in the Vineyard.
The countdown is on and every day counts
There was relief in the Loire Valley in late July as rain finally arrived after weeks of relentless, can’t-stop-thinking-about-it heat.
“It has given the vegetation a chance to recover and brought some much-needed freshness during this final stretch before harvest,” says Miguela Villebois.
Now, with work in the vineyard finished, “it’s time to let nature take its course as we patiently wait for the grapes to reach full ripeness”.
“The countdown is on! If weather conditions remain favourable, we expect to begin harvesting around 24 August. Until then, every day counts as the grapes continue their journey towards perfect ripeness.”
See more from Joost and Miguela here
Photographs by Joost and Miguela Villebois of vineyards and grapes in the Loire Valley before harvest 2026
