September feels different in the vineyard. The days may still carry the warmth of summer, but cooler mornings and shorter evenings tell us what’s coming. Across the vineyard at Adamo Estate Winery, the growing season is reaching its most anticipated point: harvest.

Getting Ready for Harvest

By September, much of the work of the growing season is behind us, but some of the most important decisions are still to come. Our vineyard and winemaking teams are closely watching each varietal as the fruit approaches maturity. Ripeness isn’t simply about how a grape looks. Sugar levels, acidity, flavour development, weather and the condition of the fruit all help determine when the time is right to pick.

And not everything is ready at once.

Different grape varieties and vineyard blocks develop at their own pace, which means harvest unfolds over time. As picking approaches, the focus becomes increasingly precise: monitoring the fruit, watching the forecast and preparing for the moment when grapes can make the short journey from vine to winery. There’s an energy around the winery at this time of year that you simply don’t experience during any other season. Months of work in the vineyard are about to become the beginning of another vintage.

September Nights Among the Vines

While the vineyard gets ready for harvest, there are still a few opportunities to enjoy it before the season changes.

On September 25, Movie Nights in the Vineyard returns with Rock of Ages, bringing music and a movie to the big screen under the stars.

The following evening, September 26, the winery changes gears for our Yuk Yuk’s Dinner, featuring a three-course wine-paired dinner followed by two hours of live comedy.

And as September gives way to October, harvest season continues. Scream comes to the vineyard on October 16, and our upcoming Harvest Winemaker’s Dinner on October 23 will celebrate the season through food, wine and the story behind what’s happening in the vineyard.

A New Season Begins

Soon, the landscape will change quickly. The hills will turn colour, harvest activity will move from the vineyard into the winery, and another growing season will officially come to an end.

But September gives us that brief moment in between. The fruit is still on the vines. The leaves are just beginning to change. The anticipation of harvest is building. And another Ontario vintage is waiting to begin.