Scott Uncorked: The 2025 Riesling Harvest

Over the weekend at Silver Thread, I spent the day harvesting a small vineyard of young Riesling vines. They are only three years old, and this was the first time they could be harvested. Because they were so young, they produced lots of grapes and ripened faster, so they were harvested a bit earlier in the season.

This year’s harvest has been unlike any I’ve seen so far. The long, hot summer and warm, dry fall meant the grapes came in smaller than usual, with less juice to be found. But what’s there is incredibly concentrated. It will be interesting to see what the juice from the more mature vines tastes like when they’re harvested sometime soon.

In the meantime, we picked these grapes since they were ready. Then we transported the overflowing bins back to the press pad and pressed the grapes.

The first juice running down the trough was golden and fragrant. That moment always gets me. You could smell the bright fruit and know instantly that all the months of waiting were worth it.

When the pressing’s done, all that’s left are the flattened clusters, skins, and seeds, which go back to the vineyard as compost, feeding next year’s vines.

Scroll through below to see the 2025 Riesling harvest from start to finish, from grapes on the vine to juice in the trough, and finally, compost.

A few steps away, Chardonnay was already flowing into barrels, starting its own journey.

It’s been a small but beautiful harvest. While there’s less fruit this year, what we’ve got is packed with promise!

Earlier in the month, we bottled sparkling wine. To learn more about that process, check out this post.

If you’re following along, thanks for being part of the ride—more stories (and wines) to come. If you want to stay updated on the latest posts, make sure to subscribe to our blog. And don’t forget to check out our Facebook group, Finger Lakes Food and Wine Adventure.

Cheers from the lake,
—Scott