

Everyone in the wine world knows that what happens in the vineyard is just as important as what happens in the winery, maybe more so, depending on who you ask. As consumers and collectors, we learn about soil types, elevations and pruning methods just as dutifully as we study barrel regimens and aging preferences.
It stands to reason, then, that the people who work in the vineyards, cellars, bottling lines and tasting rooms should have at least a passing familiarity with each other and the work their cohorts do. That’s where the family meal comes in.
Many producers put out a big spread weekly, monthly or to celebrate events like the beginning and end of harvest. The intention is not just to provide a nice perk—these meals give people a chance to meet those who work in other areas of the cellar and the vineyard.
“It brings all the different groups—marketing, cellars, vineyards—together,” says Sarah Matthews, winery chef at Talley Vineyards in Arroyo Grande, California.
Who’s Eating?
Some producers, like Jordan Winery in Sonoma County, have harvest lunches that are open to the public. Au Bon Climat in Santa Barbara occasionally opens its lunches up too. At these, wine lovers can mix and mingle with the people who helped fill the bottles on the table and, in Au Bon Climat’s case, eat food prepared by Winemaker/Owner Jim Clendenen himself.
Many other producers offer quieter, less public meals for staff only, however. This can mean picnic tables laid out with grilled meat and fresh vegetables overlooking the pristine vines at Château Cheval Blanc in Saint-Émilion, but it can also mean breakfast on the go.
The latter is the case at Cramoisi Vineyard in Dundee, Oregon, where Co-owner/Winegrower Sofia Torres-McKay adapts the practice to the workers’ schedules by serving food as they head out into the vines.
“After we picked the grapes, we invited [the vineyard workers], and we had picnic tables outside in the vineyards, and guess what? Only three people stayed,” she laughs. “They wanted to go to the next vineyard, because they wanted to make money.”
Torres-McKay is cofounder of AHIVOY, a program that seeks to educate vineyard laborers—in her area, primarily Latinx people—about what happens with the grapes they pick. She says this will pave the way for those who are interested to take on different positions in the industry. Through the work of enrolling people in community college classes, she has a keen understanding of both the restrictions on workers’ time and the value of interaction between them and people working in the winery. Offering breakfast during harvest is her workaround to a big lunch or dinner.
At Talley Vineyards, family meal is a weekly occurrence during harvest and throughout the year. Beatriz Ramirez, Talley Farms’ personnel director who’s been with the business for about 45 years, says the staff is a mix of longtime employees, interns and locals who show up around harvest because they’re familiar with the company.
What’s on the Menu?
If there is a common theme, it’s local ingredients. And why would it be any other way, in an industry that prizes terroir?
Talley Vineyards has a farm onsite. Matthews says she’ll stop by in the morning to see what’s in season, but there are also a number of specialties that made it into Our California Table, Co-owner Brian Talley’s cookbook. Ramirez’s salsa is particularly beloved.
“I dry my own chile peppers, and I can tomatillos and tomatoes,” Ramirez says.
Matthews tries to rotate dishes to keep things interesting and says that during harvest, when there are more people working, she tends to look to dishes like pasta that are big and hearty.
Jordan Winery publishes its harvest lunch menus online for would-be ticket buyers. Spreads run the gamut from Mexican to Korean to Mediterranean, but all use at least some produce from an onsite garden.
At Cramoisi, Torres’s breakfast spread is motivated by what the workers ask for.
“I go to the Mexican bakery and get donuts and pastries and coffee,” she says. “They used to like the Mexican coffee; now they’re asking for Starbucks. It’s just coffee, pastries and fruit on the table.”
These varied settings and meals paint a starkly contrasting picture of what labor looks like, based on the size and budget of a given business and the workforce available. Still, the idea of coming together over copious amounts of simple food, to nourish the work of making wine, remains.
Jump Straight to a Recipe
Sarah’s Napa Cabbage Salad
Brian Talley’s Guacamole
Chico and Beatriz’s Tostadas with Refried Beans
1Sarah’s Napa Cabbage SaladÂ
2Brian Talley’s Guacamole
3Chico and Beatriz’s Tostadas with Refried Beans