September marks the beginning of harvest season on the North Fork of Long Island—one of the most exciting and important times of year in wine country. Over the coming weeks and months, farms and vineyards across the East End will begin bringing in their crops, including the grapes that will become the next vintage of North Fork wines.
At Suhru & Lieb Vineyards, harvest is just around the corner. Our sparkling wine grapes are expected to be the first picked, with harvesting likely beginning in mid-September.
With harvest season approaching quickly, Winemaker Russell Hearn and Director of Viticulture John Fondacaro shared an inside look at what’s happening now in both the vineyard and winery as the team prepares for the busy months ahead.
The growing season has been anything but predictable.
After a cool spring slowed early shoot growth, June and July brought warmer-than-average temperatures. While sunny weather may be ideal for beach days on the North Fork, extreme heat and humidity can create serious challenges in the vineyard.
High humidity and stagnant air increase fungal disease pressure, making vineyard management especially important during the summer months.
To maintain vineyard health and fruit quality, our vineyard team spent the summer closely monitoring conditions and proactively managing the vines.
Through regular scouting and careful observation, we established a preventative spray program designed to combat disease pressure before it could impact the fruit.
At the same time, the team dedicated significant labor to hand leaf removal throughout the fruiting zone.
If you visit the vineyard this time of year, you’ll notice relatively open canopies around the grape clusters. Those leaves were intentionally removed by hand to:
While labor-intensive, this process plays a critical role in producing high-quality wine grapes on the North Fork.
As we move into September, veraison has now finished in the white grape varieties and is nearing completion in the reds.
So what is veraison?
Veraison marks the beginning of grape ripening and one of the most important stages in the vineyard growing season. During this phase:
For red wine grapes, this is when clusters transition from green to shades of red, purple, and blue. It’s a clear sign that harvest season is approaching.
Harvest timing depends heavily on weather conditions and grape ripeness.
Typically, our sparkling wine grapes are harvested first—often around September 14–18. Sparkling wine fruit is intentionally picked earlier than still wine grapes in order to preserve higher natural acidity, which is essential for balance and freshness in sparkling wines.
Now, as always during harvest season, we wait to see what Mother Nature gives us in the weeks ahead.
While the vineyard team monitors ripening fruit, activity inside the winery is ramping up as well.
Before the first grapes arrive, every piece of harvest equipment must be prepared, cleaned, sanitized, and tested.
At this stage, the winery team is focused on:
As Russell often says, great winemaking begins with cleanliness and preparation long before the grapes arrive at the winery.
Harvest is one of the most important moments of the entire winemaking year.
Every decision—from vineyard management to harvest timing—directly impacts the wines that will eventually end up in your glass.
And while harvest season is incredibly busy, it’s also one of the most rewarding and exciting times to be on the North Fork.
Over the coming weeks, the vineyards will continue to change rapidly as harvest officially begins across Long Island wine country.
We look forward to sharing updates from both the vineyard and winery as the vintage takes shape.
