LEEDS — Six days into the grape harvest at WillowsAwake Winery and it’s all-hands-on-deck to gather the ripening grapes, a process called veraison — when the grapes change from hard berries into softer, more translucent gold for white varieties and ruby-purple for red varieties.

The warm and dry weather spell in our area has played a role in advancing the ripeness of the 8 acres of grapes in the vineyard, setting into motion the annual harvest. And this year’s harvest at WillowsAwake has owner Tony Lyons and winemaker and vineyard manager, Lindsay Benson, very excited.

Jeff Lynn uncovers rows of Prairie Star grapes Friday for the harvest at WillowsAwake Winery in Leeds. Bird netting, inflatable predator eyes and loudspeakers broadcasting the sounds of distress calls and predator calls are among the ways the winery protects their crops. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

“Things are going great, so far,” Benson said Friday morning by phone as she and the crew were already among the vines, picking grapes. “We are currently picking the last four rows of our Itasca block, which is our biggest and most productive variety that we have.”

White varieties are usually harvested first because they ripen first and will have a higher acidity level, which make crisp, tart wines.

Benson has been monitoring the pH levels of the grapes and everything is looking good she said. Yield is looking very positive as well. “On the very first morning we well surpassed our largest harvest.”

Winemaker Lindsay Benson punches down a piquette Friday to submerge the grape skins so they stay hydrated at WillowsAwake Winery in Leeds. The piquette is a low-alcohol wine made from the second pressings of grape pomace. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

In four previous years of picking grapes at WillowsAwake, Benson said the harvest has been almost exclusively from the Itasca grape, which is a cold-hardy, hybrid white grape. This year will see other varietals like Frontenac Gris, Prairie Star and Petite Pearl, a red varietal.

“It’s really exciting for us as a company,” Benson added, “because we’re going to be able to expand our portfolio and show people a lot of different ways that grapes can be grown here in Maine.”

The harvest at WillowsAwake is done by hand and a small and dedicated crew. Friends and family augment the crew on weekends.

“We’ve already brought in over 10,000 pounds of Itasca, which is a huge amount,” Benson pointed out. A few more weeks of harvesting and it’s on to the rest of the winemaking process from sorting, crushing, fermenting to bottling over winter and into spring.

Prairie Star, a white grape variety, is one of the first to ripen at Willows Awake Winery in Leeds. The grape is ideal for crisp, tart wines with high acidity. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal