Harvest Highlight: Michael Bairdsmith

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.

Michael Bairdsmith, Assistant Winemaker at Lytton Springs

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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?

I joined the winemaking team at RIDGE in July, just before the 2014 harvest. The main thing I recall was the major shift in winemaking techniques practiced at Ridge Vineyards compared to what I had been used to. Every winery I had worked at relied on additives to grape must during harvest. Nutrient additions, enzymes, and cultured yeasts were the norm at the more industrial wineries, and at RIDGE, we simply don’t add anything to freshly picked grapes. The RIDGE philosophy is that the best expression of the vineyard comes through in a wine with minimal intervention. I had to “unlearn” my previous practices. It was my 11^th harvest overall that year, so it wasn’t easy. I had some old habits I had to break.

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

Around mid- to late-July, I visit our various vineyards just to get a sense of what this year’s crop is looking like. I check out the health of the canopy, how ripening is coming along, and of course the health and volume of the crop. The vineyard crew and interns are diligent about maintaining the quality of our crops. They’re also experts and knowing with to start sampling and how to do it effectively. We rely on the results from their samples to get an idea when picking time is approaching.

When ripening is close, Shauna and I visit the vineyards to assess the flavor, texture, and physiological ripeness of the grapes. When Shauna and I decide we’re ready to pick, we schedule a picking date with the vineyard crew. We try to give them several days’ notice, based on grape ripeness and the forecast. When it is cool, we know we can wait a bit longer, while hot spells often create urgency to pick.

Each morning during harvest we’ll have a plan regarding what grapes we are receiving, a good idea of how much, and when we can expect them. This is shared with the cellar crew so that they can prepare tanks, hoses, and the receiving and crushing equipment. They’re also assigned cellar work that, during harvest, involves cap management of fermenting tanks, draining and pressing, and sanitation.

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

My favorite vineyards to visit are the vineyards at our Lytton West Estate. Not only are they gorgeous, old, head-trained organic vineyards, but they’re also a patchwork quilt of different varieties, soils, aspects, and microclimates. The Lytton Estate vineyards are the most near and dear to my heart because they are the vineyards that give us Lytton Springs (which is my favorite, don’t tell the other wines). They’re also the vineyards right here in the backyard of the winery, so it feels like my home for the last 12 years.

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

The first thing I do to kick off harvest is put my gym membership on hold for three months. Next, I plan a fun weekend with my kids since I won’t be seeing them for a while. Then we do a big Costco trip and stock up the winery fridge with frozen lasagna, burritos, and tinned fish. Once harvest is in full swing, I try to make sure we feed the crew well at least once a week. There’s something invaluable about a good meal when it comes to boosting morale. We have an amazing hard-working crew, but the heat and the long days are enough to challenge even the most robust spirit. We try and give each crew member at least one weekend day off, but sometimes that’s not in the cards. Everyone understands that harvest takes precedence and Mother Nature, god bless her, doesn’t care about your schedule. At the end of harvest, when the last grapes are in and the final tanks are pressed, I take a long weekend up in Mendocino on the coast. That’s usually in October and there’s nothing like the cold, crisp north coast after months of Sonoma County heat, dust, and sun.

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

That’s a tricky one. I went into a fully formed and successful winery on day one. I know it makes me sound like an insufferable company man, but I had much more to learn from RIDGE than the other way around. I may have helped developed better sanitation practices and some improvements on modern winery database use, but I like to think I’m doing a good job just maintaining the RIDGE status quo that’s been upheld since the 1960s.

6. What do you hope for this 2026 harvest?

I’m hoping for some surprises, and not the bad kind. Right now, we’re looking at an early harvest. Everything has been a couple of weeks ahead since spring. Some years this will happen and we’ll get geared up for an early beginning and early end to harvest, which isn’t ideal. We winemakers love “hang time”. When the grapes linger longer on the vine, the resulting wine is far more structured and complex. I’m hoping we’ll get a cool spell in August that will slow the sugar ripening and allow for more physiological maturity to develop. It’s happened many times before, so we’ll see.