Sometimes I imagine what it must be like to be a Napa winemaker. So when I saw Elkhorn Peak Cellars’ event calendar included the opportunity to “Be A Winemaker for the Morning,” I signed up. My wife and I have been Elkhorn Peak wine club members for over 14 years so I already knew how much I enjoy drinking their wines. I was eager to learn more about how the grapes get in the bottle.
I arrived at the vineyard which is just 13 miles from my house wearing clothes that I didn’t mind getting messy. That was what the instructions said. Elise Nerlove, owner and winemaker of Elkhorn Peak, introduced herself to our group and poured us a splash of their 2024 sparkling pinot noir. She explained it was made using a pet nat style which is shorthand for the petillant naturel method of sparkling wine fermentation which is different from the traditional champagne method used for mass-produced sparkling wines. Elise’s dad, Ken Nerlove, has been growing pinot noir grapes in this vineyard for 35 years, but it’s been just 6 years since Elise joined him after working at Domaine Carneros and Gloria Ferrar to begin making Elkhorn’s sparkling pinot noir. I’ve been enjoying the bubbles since the beginning, but this is the first year that Elise has invited the general public to help her with the process.
After a brief visit to the vineyard to see how the 2026 crop is maturing… it’s just weeks away from harvesting…. Elise put us all to work. First we upended bottles of unfiltered sparkling pinot wine that were bottled from grapes harvested about this time 2 years ago. We shoved the bottle necks into bins with dry ice for 5-10 minutes to freeze the grape sediment. As we removed the bottles from the bin, we pried off the metal “beer bottle” caps and set the bottle on the table.
Within minutes, the party started with the bottles making popping sounds as the frozen slugs of purple sediment flew into the air in a process winemakers call disgorging. This was where it got messy. As sediment went flying, we wiped the necks of the newly-opened bottles; topped each with a spare bottle to make the fluid level consistent; recapped the bottles with a new bottle cap; and then washed, rinsed, and disinfected each bottle before placing it in the sun to dry. Then we started the process again until we completed 8 cases of 12 bottles each. I prefer to think of this quantity as 96 bottles of wine on the table.
After we completed about half the cases, Elise called a “cheese break” and she distributed individual boxes of cheese and fruit to each of us, and poured samples of their other wines: traditional Pinot Noir from 2020, a newer white Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and a brut sparkling pinot noir made in the traditional way with bottle corks under wire cages.
When we got back to work, the last step in the process was to stick a label on each bottle and return it to a cardboard case. It was invigorating to work as a team alongside of the other event registrants as well as Elise and Ken Nerlove with Maiel Forner who are the “real” winemakers.
After we finished, Ken invited me to relax on their beautiful patio alongside the vineyard, but I was exhausted. And Elise observed that I was gonna need a shower. So I drove the 13 miles home, showered, and fell into bed for a much-needed late afternoon nap. I woke up refreshed and eager to share with my wife everything I had learned. I’ve appreciated the skill and passion that Elkhorn Peak puts into all its wine for over a decade. And I was grateful to learn more about what it takes to make their magic happen. But as I reflect on my day as a winemaker, I have a whole new appreciation for the wine I drink, and I’m relieved to be able to leave the winemaking to others.
Elkhorn Peak has a comprehensive calendar of events this year. See their schedule and sign-up at https://www.elkhornpeak.com/collection/events.
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