FEATURED INDUSTRY: WINERIES

largest vineyard is in Amargosa, producing enough grapes for most of the current wineries in Nevada. Unfortunately, most of those grapes went to a California winery this year. We harvest every Nevada grape we can find. Sometimes that means we are harvesting tiny amounts from private vineyards. It isn’t economically viable to harvest the small vineyards, but we do because we want to see this Nevada industry grow.

The second challenge is finding harvest help. We handpick every grape and it is hard work. Sometimes someone will show up to help harvest and decide halfway through the day that it is too much work. Sometimes they work great for a day and then never show up again.

Third, space and equipment. Because there are so few wineries spread throughout the state, each winery has to purchase all the equipment needed to make wine. Other regions that have a lot of wineries will share resources like equipment. Most of the equipment used in winemaking is imported from Europe; getting replacement parts can be difficult and expensive. It also means that equipment needs to be ordered far in advance to get to us in time. Space is also a consideration. Wine needs to age. You could have several vintages of wines in storage, which takes a lot of room. There is very little climate-controlled warehouse space in Pahrump. And that space is not inexpensive. The landlord just notified us of our current storage space that they intend to increase our rent 100%!

Q: What is the most critical time in the winemaking business?

A: Harvest is the most intense time of the year for our company. So many variables go into a harvest that it is a constant juggle to keep everything going. Harvest time also means very long hours. We typically meet at 5 AM on harvest days and try to get to the vineyards before sunrise. We try to get out of the vineyards before noon. Harvest in the desert starts in July, and it is hot! Once we finish picking grapes for that day, we are only halfway done that day. We then head to the production building and crush and destem the grapes. If the grapes are a white varietal, we will press them that same day. Once that work is completed, we still need to clean and sanitize all the equipment. Those work days can be 12 to 16 hours long.