I took a moment to snap a picture of these Napa clusters before I had to dash back to Sactown. The leaf shape and uneven ripening lead me to believe this is Cabernet Franc. I could be wrong, but the clusters are too loose to be Cab. I was surprised to see raisined clusters (in the background near the bottom) and green clusters (in the foreground near the top) on the same vine(s). This, IMO, is not good vineyard management. For that reason I won’t name the [otherwise reputable] winery… besides, they gave me a bunch of free wine for fixing a problem with the pump on their glycol cooling system.
Maybe the winemakers (or management) have determined the improvement in the quality of the fruit is not worth the investment in the labor for a ‘green’ harvest/pruning. Traditional thinking is green clusters rob energy from a vine which can slow the ripening of the more mature berries and, potentially, reduce the concentrations of sugars and organic acids in the fruit – which usually makes for dull wines. Green berries are usually left on the vine only if they are intermingled, in limited numbers, within bunches of ripe berries – a condition know as millerandage. They may be planning a second harvest – not likely. I’ll have to inquire…
The Flavor Democracy 