Harvest Highlight: David Gates

Blog Post

July 2026

Harvest is nearly as notable as the pop of a cork. It’s certainly one of the highlights of the grape-to-glass process, from the anticipation of a pick to the whirlwind in the cellar. As we approach the harvest season, however, we’d like to take a closer look at all that goes into harvest. In this series of posts, we’ll highlight the harvest heroes at Ridge Vineyards: the members of our vineyard and production teams who masterfully conduct the symphony of tasks necessary to harvest the grapes from our estate and partner vineyards, then initiate the winemaking process.

David Gates, Sr. VP of Vineyard Operations

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1. What was your first vintage with RIDGE? Can you recall something specific about the season you joined or what made that vintage unique?

My first harvest as Monte Bello was 1989. It was a cool vintage and we finished the last of the cabernet grapes in the middle of November. My take-home lesson of 1989 was finding out that cabernet sauvignon can go through 3 rainstorms and still hold up!

2. Please briefly describe your role leading up to and through the harvest season. 

I work with Production, our Growers, and my Vineyard Team to make sure grapes get to the wineries on time and in good shape. This involves a lot of communication, planning, sampling, and advising.

3. What’s one of your favorite vineyards to visit this time of year and why? 

Benito Dusi Vineyard. I fell in love with this ranch the first time I visited. Beni, and now his nephew Mike, have done an amazing job keeping these historic vines in the ground. There is an old photo of the ranch taken 70 or so years ago hanging in the kitchen of the Dusi home, and the only difference between then and now is that the trees around the house have filled in and grown up.

4. Do you have any rituals to kick off, endure, or wrap up the season? 

Harvest is always exciting, exhausting, worrisome, and super fun. I always try to get away for a bit after harvest to unwind, and I love tasting through the wine lots to see what all our hard work through the year has led to.

5. What’s one aspect of your role/department that you are proud to have developed in your tenure at RIDGE? 

It has been great to have helped secure our Estate Vineyards through leases and purchases over the years.

6. What do you hope for this 2026 harvest? 

Smoooooooth sailing! Our Sonoma vineyards have an average crop, while Monte Bello is on the light side. I expect that it will be a compact vintage, and if the weather cooperates, quality should be excellent.