Harvest in Yountville: Where It All Began

Every fall, Napa Valley gets busy with harvest. But in Yountville, harvest is more than a once-a-year season. Yountville grew alongside the vines, helped shape the beginnings of Napa Valley wine country, and nearly two centuries later, harvest still pulses through town and through all of us.

So let’s unravel the history, see what Yountville has become, and explore what not to miss at the heart of the Valley this harvest season.

Welcome to harvest in Yountville.

Where Napa Valley’s Wine Story Took Root

Did you know Napa Valley’s wine story started right here in Yountville? Back in the early 1800s, the land that would become Yountville was part of Mexico, and in 1836, the Mexican government granted 11,887 acres of it to a man named George C. Yount. His last name must sound familiar... Yount became the first person to plant grapevines in Napa Valley, and also to give his name to Yountville.

So yes, before the tasting rooms, the Michelin stars and all those Cabernets, there was George and his vines. And the first Napa Valley Harvest.

Then the railroad arrived in 1868, and things started moving faster (literally). New residents and businesses followed, including German immigrant Gottlieb Groezinger, who purchased 20 acres in the middle of town. By 1874, he had built a winery, a barrel room and a distillery there.

And this is where history meets us today: you can still walk through all these great buildings and tales. Groezinger’s massive stone winery buildings are now V Marketplace hosting V Wine Cellar and Christopher Elbow Chocolates. The historic Yountville Station building nearby is now home to The Yount Room and No & Co.

Here, Wine country history isn’t hidden away somewhere behind glass or walls. You walk through it, eat in it, raise a glass in it... and during harvest, you get to watch the next chapter being picked right outside.

Nearly two centuries after George planted those first vines, there’s still something new growing.

From Farming Town to World Renown Destination

George Yount probably wouldn’t recognize today’s Yountville, but I like to think he’d be pretty impressed with what his little town grew into.

Today, Yountville is known around the world for incredible wineries and tasting rooms, art and galleries, beautiful hotels and inns, and restaurants that people happily plan entire trips around. We’ve dressed things up a little since the 1800s, but the vines never went anywhere.

Yountville is still surrounded by vineyards, and there’s even a vineyard parcel at Estate Yountville right in the middle of downtown.

Come harvest, those vines are heavy with grape clusters, and the landscape slowly trades its summer green for gold, orange and red. It’s very tempting to conduct your own “quality-control tasting” straight from the vine… but we’ll leave that job to the vineyard teams.

Make The Most of Harvest

If you're planning on coming here during harvest, here is what to do to enjoy the peak of the season:

Above The Vines

Napa Valley Aloft takes off from Yountville in the early morning, when the Valley is still quiet and the vineyards below are just waking up. During harvest, that means rows heavy with fruit, pockets of fall color beginning to appear and, if timing is on your side, crews already at work below. From up there, you really understand just how much of this Valley is vineyard, and how Yountville sits right in the middle of it all.

Back on Solid Ground

Once your feet are back on the ground, keep the vineyard theme going with Hill Family Estate. They partner with Napa Valley Aloft, so it's a convenient stop for a harvest cheer after floating above the vineyards.

You can even plan having a picnic in the Vineyard and enjoy a bottle without the formality of a tasting. That's a morning you'll remember!

Take a Vineyard Tour

Harvest is probably the best excuse to get a little nosy and wander between the rows. Right on Yountville Cross Road, Cliff Lede Vineyards offers a Morning Walk in the Vineyard that takes you through the estate vines and winery (with wine along the way!).

A few minutes north of town, Groth Vineyards & Winery trades the walking shoes for an ATV adventure. And yes, you can head straight into the estate vineyards on a 90-minute semi-private ride. Buckle up!

Get Your Hands Dirty

If simply watching harvest isn’t quite enough, CHANDON lets you get right into it with their Harvest Experience. You'll get to go into the Yountville Vineyard, where you'll taste grapes straight from the vine and handpick ripe clusters destined for a future cuvée. So for a little while, you’re not just visiting harvest. You’re actually helping with it.

And because vineyard work is always better when brunch is involved, the experience wraps up around the table with a family-style meal paired with CHANDON wines.

Wanting Your Feet Purple?

And then, of course, there is the harvest activity most of us have secretly wanted to try since learning wine came from grapes: stomping them with our feet. The Napa Valley Wine Train’s seasonal Grape Stomp takes you to Grgich Hills Estate, where shoes come off and bare feet go into the barrel on the outdoor crush pad.

Is this how most Napa Valley wine is made today? Absolutely not. Is it considerably more fun than watching a machine do it? Absolutely yes.

Between Vineyard and Bottle

Harvest has the wineries getting louder: tanks are being filled, barrels are moving, fermentations are bubbling away, and for a few weeks you can catch wine somewhere between “grape” and “bottle.”

Just north of Yountville is St. Supéry Estate Vineyard and Winery, and they are opening up the crush pad for the Harvest Live! experience.

If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on behind the winery doors at this time of year, take a peek! You’ll see harvest activity as it happens, follow the wine through fermentation and aging, and taste directly from the tank and barrel along the way.

Bring The Whole Herd

If harvest calls for a full family outing, bring your herd to The Oasis by Hoopes Vineyard.

The adults can enjoy a glass of Hoopes wine, while the younger crowd heads straight for the co-stars of the show: rescued goats, pigs, mini horses, lambs, chickens, ducks, turkeys and Jack E. O’Asses, the resident donkey with a name that deserves its own tasting flight.

Just don't let someone in your family adopt a mini horse... or maybe do.

There is also the Yountville Farmers’ Market, where the season becomes a little less grape-centric and a lot more edible. Fresh produce, local farms and whatever the Valley is doing particularly well that week all make a good reminder that harvest in Napa Valley has always been about more than wine.

Nearly Two Centuries Later

Harvest just feels different in Yountville than anywhere else in the Valley. The vineyards aren’t somewhere off in the distance - they’re part of town, part of the view, part of the history, and part of the people who still make this place what it is.

Here, Highway 29 goes around Yountville instead of straight through it. You still get all the harvest energy, the vineyard traffic, the color, the movement, just without a line of grape trucks outside your window. You can grab a coffee downtown and, a few minutes later, be walking past working vines. That’s Yountville.

Nearly two centuries later, the town may be a little more polished, but it is still connected to where it started: among the vineyards.

Happy harvest!

Sip Yountville Zone

Remember - Yountville is the first and only town in the Napa Valley that allows people to drink with open containers along the street and sidewalk areas.

From 10 AM to 10 PM Mon-Sun, guests can purchase alcoholic beverages from participating local businesses and enjoy them outdoors along designated areas of Washington Street, as long as drinks are served in a Town of Yountville-approved cup provided by the business.

Here's the current lineup of participating businesses as of July 29th, 2026:

• Bottega
• Ciccio
• Handwritten
• Hill Family Estate
• Hope & Grace
• Jessup Cellars
• Mad Fritz
• North Block
• Pancha's
• Priest Ranch
• RH
• Silver Trident
• Stewart Cellars
• The Coop by Hoopes
• The Yount Room
• V Wine Cellars
• Estate Yountville (Villagio, Bar)
• Wine Country Connection

Click above to explore the Yountville Visitors Guide. We cannot wait to see you!

Yountville Chamber of Commerce

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