October 4, 2013 | by Lisa Mattson

I love the autumn days when my alarm clock goes off at 5:30 a.m.–yes, I said five-thirty in the morning–because I know I’ll be in the middle of a hilltop vineyard in 90 minutes, capturing video footage of harvest. It’s pitch black when I leave my house, and by the time I climb up to the top of a ridge overlooking Alexander Valley, the tractors and gondolas are taking their positions between the rows of grapevines. The fiery sun begins to peek out from behind Mount St. Helena, and the pickers start their race against the clock. That’s when it’s time to grab the video camera and go to work. It doesn’t feel much like work to me.

To celebrate Harvest 2013, we created a montage video of our favorite moments. Stay tuned for our official harvest report video later this month.