From Bud to Bottle: How Grapes Grow at Stags’ Leap Napa Valley Estate
Every bottle of wine begins long before it reaches the cellar. It begins in the quiet early days of spring on the historic Stags’ Leap estate, where each vine’s journey unfolds in harmony with nature, craft, and over a century of winemaking tradition.
At Stags’ Leap Winery in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley, the lifecycle of a grape is not simply a seasonal progression, it is the foundation of our Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and every wine handcrafted on our estate. Understanding how a grape develops from bud to berry offers a deeper appreciation for the meticulous care, patience, and intuition that define our winemaking approach.
This guide takes you through the full vineyard cycle as it unfolds at Stags’ Leap, revealing how climate, terroir, and hands-on craftsmanship come together to shape the wines you enjoy.
Bud Break: The Beginning of a New Vintage
In early spring, typically March in Napa Valley, the first signs of life return to the vineyard. Warm days coax dormant vines awake, causing tiny buds to swell and reveal the first delicate green leaves of the season.
This stage, known as bud break, marks the official start of the new vintage. It is a moment of excitement and vulnerability: young shoots are tender and susceptible to frost, wind, and spring rains. At Stags’ Leap Winery, our vineyard team monitors weather patterns closely, protecting the vines as needed to ensure strong, healthy growth.
Flowering & Fruit Set: Nature Determines the Crop
By late spring, the vineyard enters flowering, an elegant but understated moment when clusters release tiny blossoms. It is during this time that pollination occurs and the potential crop is set.
If temperatures remain stable and conditions are mild, the flowers convert into small, firm green berries, a stage known as fruit set.
In the Stags Leap District, our warm days and cool nights create near-ideal conditions for even fruit development. Balanced fruit set leads to clusters with uniform berry size, a key factor in producing the structured yet refined Cabernet Sauvignon and expressive Petite Sirah for which the winery is known.
Canopy Management & Thinning: Crafting Quality in the Vineyard
Throughout summer, the vines enter a period of vigorous growth. Leaves expand, shoots stretch, and clusters begin to take shape. This is where human craftsmanship becomes essential.
Our vineyard team carefully guides the canopy, selectively trimming leaves to balance shade and sunlight, opening up airflow, and ensuring every cluster receives the right conditions for ripening.
This practice is especially important for Cabernet Sauvignon, which thrives with consistent sun exposure, and Petite Sirah, which benefits from airflow and moderate shading.
In some years, clusters may also be thinned to reduce yields and enhance concentration. Lower yields often result in richer, more intensely flavored wines, a hallmark of Stags’ Leap reds.
Veraison: The Vineyard Comes Alive
As the summer drifts on, the grape clusters will begin to change color dependent on their variety. Chardonnay evolves from green to translucent while cabernet sauvignon shifts from green to red. Known as veraison, this is the grape’s final transformation before harvest. Over about two months, nutrients and energy will flow from the vine’s roots to the berries, causing them to lose acidity and increase sugar levels. As the summer comes to an end, winemakers will check sugar levels, known as Brix, daily until they are just right for harvesting.
Harvest: A Moment of Precision and Heritage
The climax, the denouement, the grand finale; the harvest is the final step in the grape’s lifecycle. Towards the end of the summer, winemakers will start measuring sugar levels (known as brix) and other phenolic compounds until they decide the grapes have reached peak maturity. Harvest typically kicks off in early August with chardonnays and other still-white varietals. Cabernets and other red grapes will follow in the late summer and early fall months.
At the Winery
Once the grapes are harvested, they are brought back to the winery to undergo crush, fermentation, and aging. The first few days after a load of grapes is brought in happens at a furious pace. Cellar teams will sort out unripe or otherwise flawed clusters in a process called triage before crushing the grapes to separate the juice from the skins. Then, the juice is pumped into barrels or tanks to begin the fermentation process. This can vary widely depending on varietal and Winemaker Ludovic Dervin's preference. As the yeasts get to work, our grape’s lifecycle concludes. Soon, the juice will make its way into barrels for aging.
