In Louisiana, the peak heat of summer means harvest time for a handful of winegrowers across the state. And for husband-and-wife team Neil Gernon and Monica Bourgeois of Wild Bush Farm and Vineyard on Louisiana’s Northshore, this summer marks the first estate grape harvest since they took over the property in 2021.They had to start from scratch. They uprooted old vines. They replanted new ones. They lost crops to black rot; battled critters; withstood freezes, and now, it’s finally time to pick six rows of Camminare Noir, a hybrid grape they took a bet on in their Southern Louisiana soil.
Gernon and Bourgeois, both hailing from Louisiana, have been producing wines in Napa through their Vending Machine Wines label since 2009. These are folks who like making wines with obscure grapes from Bordeaux, or from a 100-year-old rattlesnake-laden vineyard in Lodi, California.
