09/15/2026
Harvest 2026.
I don’t post all that often about the nuts and bolts of harvest, but this one deserves a little attention.
This year’s harvest in upstate New York started with a bloody spring frost, followed by plenty of heat, humidity and rain. Every harvest throws something at you, but this one has been a doozy.
So instead, here’s something happy.
Just look at those Melody grapes right before they were picked from John Wagner’s vineyard. Clean as a whistle.
And that cloudy, golden stuff in the glass is freshly pressed Cayuga, grown by Tim Hosmer and treated organically in the vineyard this year.
All of it is being shepherded by our collaborative w**emaker Ben Ricardi, who somehow is now working on his seventh harvest with us.
These grapes are destined for the second vintage of Up North “American Sparkler” — our dry, Prosecco-style bubbly.
We sold out of the first vintage faster than we’ve ever sold a w**e. That genuinely warms my heart. We made it because we wanted an uncomplicated, delicious, affordable bottle of bubbles made from New York grapes — and apparently a lot of you wanted that too.
So, to everyone who keeps asking when it’s coming back: I know. It sucks that it’s gone.
We’re working on it. And this year we’re making even more. Right now, it looks pretty damn good.
Until then, at our shop and bar we’ve got you covered with a selection of some of the best bubbles produced anywhere by some extraordinary New York w**eries we are proud to call friends and neighbors.
Stay tuned.
**e
