PHOTO GALLERY: Winemakers hope early harvest will bring better wines

September 4, 2012 | 6:00 a.m. CDT

A good wine loves stress, and some grape growers and winemakers are hopeful about this year’s vintages. “The hot dry summer is good for the fruit. You don’t get as big of a yield, but the flavors are good,” said Dean Schrader, co-owner of a vineyard in Boonville.

Scott Schrader harvests grapes Wednesday at Schrader Vineyard in Boonville. Schrader uses a Chisholm Ryder grape harvester to shake the grapes off the vines onto a conveyer belt and then through a chute and onto a tractor. | Alli Inglebright

Grapes were harvested in late August at Schrader Vineyard in Boonville. | Alli Inglebright

Scott Schrader moves through the rows of grapes. "It's like a rat race," Schrader said about the best time to pick the grapes. | Alli Inglebright

Scott Schrader levels the grapes in a full bin. After the grapes are harvested, they are put into bins to be taken to wineries including Les Bourgeois in Rocheport. | Alli Inglebright

Richard Stock steps out of a tractor after its bin is filled with grapes. Each bin holds a half-ton of grapes. | Alli Inglebright