At Donkey and Goat Winery of Fifth Street, humans press the grapes. Photo: Erin Callihan
At Donkey & Goat Winery on Fifth Street, humans, not machines, press the grapes. Photo: Erin Callahan

The last few weeks have been busy ones for Berkeley’s eight urban wineries. It’s harvest time, so the winery owners have had grapes from Napa, Sonoma, El Dorado, Santa Barbara and other counties delivered to Berkeley. Some fetch the grapes themselves. Once they are delivered to the wineries, they are de-stemmed and crushed (either by feet or with machines). Then the grapes start their fermentation, which ends up (eventually) in wine.

Read more about wine and wineries in the East Bay.

The photos published here show the harvest in full swing. Be sure to try the wines from Berkeley’s wineries, which include Urbano Cellars, Eno Wines, Lusu Cellars, Eight Arms Cellars, Donkey & Goat Winery, Covenant Wines, Broc Cellars and Edmunds St. John.

Grapes come in to Donkey & Goat. Photo: Erin Callihan
Grapes come into Donkey & Goat. Photo: Erin Callahan
Before they are pressed, the grape cluster go through this machine, which removes the stems. Photo: Erin Callihan
Before they are pressed, the grape clusters go through this machine, which removes the stems. Jared Brandt, who owns Donkey & Goat with his wife, Tracey, is on the left. Photo: Erin Callahan
Before they are pressed, the grape clusters go through this machine, which removes the stems. Jared Brandt, who owns Donkey & Goat with his wife, Tracey, is on the left. Photo: Erin Callahan
The leftover stems at Covenant, a kosher winery on Sixth Street. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
The leftover stems at Covenant, a kosher winery on Sixth Street. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Grapes waiting to be crushed at Covenant. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Grapes waiting to be crushed at Covenant. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
After Covenant separates the berries from the stems, they are poured into bins for fermentation. The dry ice keeps them cool and slows down fermentation. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
After Covenant separates the berries from the stems, they are poured into bins or placed in stainless steel or wood vats for fermentation. The dry ice keeps them cool and slows down fermentation. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Covenant harvest 2016
Jonathan Hadju (center in red t-shirt), the winemaker for Covenant, oversees the crush. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Covenant 2016 harvest
Jeff Morgan, the co-owner of Covenant, smells and then sips a freshly pressed glass of juice, not yet wine. Photo: Frances Dinkelspiel
Broc Wine Club members help make their future bottles. Photo: Mike Olson
Broc Wine Club members help make their future bottles. Photo: Mike Olson

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Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside and CItyside co-founder, is a journalist and author. Her first book, Towers of Gold: How One Jewish Immigrant Named Isaias Hellman Created California, published in November...