Share:
Nassau Valley Vineyards annual fall tradition continues
The grape harvest gets underway early in the morning at Nassau Valley Vineyards.
October 9, 2018
Crates of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes line a section of the vineyards on Oct. 2, the final harvest day of the season.
Crates of grapes are loaded on a wagon for transportation to the next stages of the process.
The yellow crates appear each year in late summer and early fall at the vineyards.
Nassau Valley Vineyards near Lewes has been in business for nearly three decades.
As the first vineyards in Sussex County, Nassau Valley Vineyards is celebrating its 27th harvest. Nearly three decades ago Peggy Raley-Ward talked her late father, Bob, into getting into the wine business on their family farm.
It was the Raleys who pioneered Delaware's wine industry in 1991 by lobbying to change state law to allow for wine production.
During the late summer and early fall, the annual harvest takes place on the 6-1/2-acre farm. They grow Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
The vineyard has received more than 200 wine competition awards and has been featured in numerous national magazines, newspapers and TV shows.
