Modesto winery harvests grapes

Silkwood Wines produces about 10,000 cases per year of syrah, petite sirah, chardonnay, alicante bouschet and cabernet sauvignon.

The harvest at Silkwood is a tiny part of the state’s wine grape crop, which totaled 3.91 million tons last year, according to the California Department of Food and Agriculture. That was down 8 percent from the record harvest of 4.25 million tons in 2013, but still the third-highest in state history.

Much of the crop supplies large wineries in and near Stanislaus County. The area is home to E.&J. Gallo Winery, The Wine Group, Bronco Wine Co. and Delicato Family Vineyards.

Within an hour or two’s drive are several premium regions – Napa, Sonoma, Livermore, Madera and the Sierra Nevada foothills among them. Many of them have events related to California Wine Month, now under way. More information is at www.discovercaliforniawines.com.

The state shipped 224.9 million cases valued at $24.6 billion to U.S. markets last year, the Wine Institute reported. An additional 43.7 million cases were exported; the value is not yet available.

This story was originally published September 7, 2015 at 12:22 PM with the headline "Modesto winery harvests grapes."