2017 Wine Harvest Officially Begins with the Traditional Blessing of the Grapes at Testarossa Winery
This marks the 129th anniversary of winemaking at the historic Novitiate Winery in Los Gatos making it the 4th oldest continuously operating winery in California.
Photo Opportunity: 1:00pm August 15, 2017
Testarossa Winery, 300 College Ave. Los Gatos, CA 95030
On the production crush pad, behind the winery
LOS GATOS, CA (August 11, 2017) Testarossa Winery, producers of premier California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, is holding its traditional “Blessing of the Harvest” on Tuesday August 15, 2017 at 1:00pm as the first of this year’s grapes make their way to the winery.
“Testarossa is proud to carry on the more than a century-old tradition by having a Blessing of the Harvest ceremony at the historic Novitiate Winery,” said Rob Jensen, proprietor of Testarossa Winery. “We look forward to receiving grapes from our 17 partner vineyards – what we believe to be the best vineyards for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the country.”
Reverend Peter Pabst, S. J. Chancellor of Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School will be the guest of honor as he blesses the first grapes of the season to arrive at Testarossa Winery, which is located at the historic Novitiate in Los Gatos.
Testarossa is expecting an exceptional harvest according to Director of Winemaking Bill Brosseau, “I am seeing happy vines following the generous winter rains. Steady and persistent heat has put us back on track to a normal harvest time frame. Typically with heavy rains, vines tend to lag on their physiological cycle and subsequently ripen later (assuming cool weather). We are seeing healthy berry size and cluster weights, with average to below average cluster counts per vine. Leaf colors are much healthier and we can expect very smooth and clean fermentations. Growers are also upbeat following many years of drought and vine stress. Given the healthy berries this year, we will be keeping a close watch on botrytis formation and will likely be very diligent on the sorting table.”
This year the Novitiate is celebrating its 129th Anniversary of consecutively making wine at this location, which is bonded as the 107th winery in the United States. Most of those 107 wineries are no longer in business.
Testarossa currently has more than 200 acres of grapes under contract, the majority of their wines come from vineyards in Monterey, Santa Barbara, and the Santa Cruz Mountains. These first chardonnay grapes come to Testarossa from the Brosseau Vineyard in Monterey County’s Chalone Appellation. Bill Brosseau has been the winemaker at Testarossa for more than 17 years. The Brosseau Chardonnay, along with the rest of the Testarossa Portfolio of Single Vineyard and Appellation wines, consistently receive outstanding scores from the most prestigious wine critics making it the Country’s Most Outstanding Wine Club.
About Testarossa
Testarossa Winery is located in the historic Novitiate in downtown Los Gatos and is one of the oldest continuously operating wineries in California. Rob and Diana Jensen started Testarossa in their garage in 1993 with just twenty-five cases of wine. Today, the winery has grown to national prominence working closely with top winegrowers in the Santa Lucia Highlands, Santa Rita Hills, and Santa Cruz Mountains. Testarossa plays host to hundreds of social and corporate events each year including business events, conferences, weddings and private parties. For more information visit Testarossa.com.
Contact: julie@testarossa.com 408.316.4586
