Pick With Us

Harvest at Domaine La Garagista usually begins in early September and continues into October. Picking dates are determined by the fruit and the weather, which means we often don't know exactly when a vineyard will be ready until a few days beforehand.

If you'd like to join us for a harvest day, add your name below. We'll contact the harvest list as picking dates take shape.

No vineyard experience is necessary. We'll provide details about the vineyard, timing, what to wear and what to bring when we contact you. If you have additional questions, please see our FAQ below.

Harvest FAQs

  • Not at all. We'll show you how we pick and what we're looking for when you arrive. Some of our harvest friends have been joining us for years; others come for the first time.

  • Our harvest generally begins in early September and continues into October, but the exact timing changes every year. Grapes are picked when they are ready, and weather can change our plans quickly. Joining the Harvest List means we'll contact you as picking days begin to take shape.

  • Sometimes several days; but it may be considerably less--24 hours. Farming has its own calendar. When we contact the list, we'll tell you the vineyard, date, approximate hours, and anything else you need to know.

  • Domaine La Garagista tends several vineyards in Vermont, including sites in Barnard, Bridgewater, Vergennes, and West Addison. Your harvest invitation will tell you exactly where to meet us.

  • Wear comfortable clothes you don't mind getting dirty, sturdy closed-toe shoes or boots, and layers appropriate to the weather. Bring water and sun or rain protection as needed. If you have a pair of pruning shears you like to use, bring them along. Some pickers prefer to pick without pruners. Let us know if you don't have pruners; we usually have a few extra that can be borrowed for the day.

  • Ideally, yes—or at least for the picking window we've specified. There is usually a morning session and an afternoon session. We typically start at 9-10 am (when fog and dew have lifted), and work until 6:30-7:30 pm, depending on sunset as it becomes earlier throughout the autumn. Harvest works best when we can begin together and know how many hands we'll have. If you need to leave early, or arrive late just let us know when you respond to a picking invitation.

  • Yes. Caleb prepares a delicious harvest lunch, and we'll open wines from the domaine to share at the table if you would like to taste. People sometimes bring along a bottle they think would be interesting for everyone to taste, and we love the discoveries that find their way onto the harvest table—but there is absolutely no need to bring wine. If you have dietary restrictions, please let us know.

    Lunch is part of the rhythm of the day: we work together in the vineyard, then sit down together to eat, drink, and talk before returning to the work at hand.

  • The fruit heads back to the winery in Barnard, where the next part of its life begins. Depending on the vineyard, the hour, and what we're making that day, you may get a glimpse of the transition from vineyard to cellar—but picking days are first and foremost working farm days.