Join Wine Harvest Kicks-Off With Blessing of Grapes at Testarossa

News from Testarossa Winery:

Testarossa Winery, producers of premier California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, is holding its traditional “Blessing of the Harvest” on Tuesday August 4, at 1 p.m. as the first of this year’s grapes make their way to the winery.

“After three record years for grape production, 2015 is going to be a much smaller harvest in comparison,” said Rob Jensen, proprietor of Testarossa Winery. “The inclement weather we experienced throughout California during April and May affected the flowering of the grapes resulting in smaller yields in the vineyards. But the smaller yields could mean good things for the structure and quality of the wine.”

Brother John Martin from the Sacred Heart Jesuit Center 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.

Also in attendance will be Fr. Jim Reites, SJ from Santa Clara University. This year the Novitiate is celebrating its 127th 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 250 acres of grapes under contract from the Russian River Valley to the north to the Santa Rita Hills to the south. These first chardonnay grapes come to Testarossa from the Brosseau Vineyard. Bill Brosseau has been the winemaker at Testarossa for more than 15 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. For more information visit Testarossa.com.