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• Lodi delegate does her part to aid Republican Party

• No time to rest for area grape harvesters and growers

• Multi-talented Lange knew how to get job done at 'The Square'

• Regional Roundup

• Clowning around: Couple gets 'married' at Tracy fund-raiser

• Results from Saturday's First Annual Art O'Keefe K-9 Competition:

November 21st, 2009

• Logbook

• Holiday drive spreads cheer to U.S. troops

• Galt High students want board to approve open-campus policy

• Poisoning victims remain hospitalized

• Expert: Half a mushroom cap can be deadly

• Tokay grad files claim over Lodi's Grape Bowl

• Lodi Middle School holds annual Turkey Trot

• Regional Roundup

• No motive or suspect in shooting

• Sacramento cop arrested for alleged kidnapping

November 20th, 2009

• Acampo woman killed

• Salvation Army Kettle Kickoff

• Advocacy groups sue East Bay Municipal Utility District over Pardee expansion

• Regional Roundup

• Galt plans to help residents with energy-efficient projects

• Stable southeast of Lodi approved

• One year after a heart attack, Lodi's Judy Mims thanks rescuers

• National Guard troops return home in time for the holidays

• Real estate market gets on more solid ground

November 19th, 2009

• Operation: Christmas

• Logbook

• Suspect arrested after hiding in fridge

• Chase ends in crash

• Galt Joint Union High School Distric hires new superintendent

• Sales tax hike yields dividends: 5 new officers join Galt Police

• Lodi Unified School District board votes to cancel summer school for 2010

• Water surges in Mokelumne River yield more salmon

• Lodi City Council will consider redevelopment next June

• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22

• Corrections

November 18th, 2009

• Regional Roundup

• Paranormal group conducts second investigation of building

• Congress allocates money for local water projects

• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react

• Lodi man finds wife's ashes during police display of stolen property

• Galt City Council rejects study on rent stabilization

November 17th, 2009

• Paying tribute to a Lodian

• Lodi Budget and Finance Committee to look into ways to save money on employee benefits

• Regional Roundup

• Decision on summer school expected at tonight's Lodi Unified School District meeting

• Clements gets free water rescue boat

• Redevelopment to be discussed by Lodi City Council again

• Court reinstates death penalty for killer of Lodi grad

• Clarification

November 16th, 2009

• Correction

• Public Meetings

• City Council 'triple-dog dared' to ditch cars, use Lodi buses

• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi

• Lodi's First Sip event showcases area wineries' latest vintages

• Three members of Lodi-area family fall ill after eating poisonous mushrooms they reportedly found at Lodi Lake

• Regional Roundup

November 14th, 2009

• Galt school district narrows superintendent search to one

• Regional Roundup

• Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise

• Watchful neighbor in Lodi helped bust suspected burglars

• New Galt city manager juggles job, family

• Despite an increase in homeless students, school districts look to bolster enrollment, raise revenue

• A first look at 2009 vintages at Lodi's First Sip wine-tasting event

The following stories have received the most reader comments during the last 7 days.

• The country's mess is our fault (172)
• Obama is not a moderate (130)
• Public health care is a Christian option (86)
• Sarah Palin's book hits the shelves: Locals react (73)
• Lodi City Council plans to cap number of taco trucks at 22 (53)
• The haves should help the have-nots (31)
• Government-run health care is a bad idea (27)
• Tokay in, traveling to unbeaten No. 3 Grant for football playoffs (25)
• Sierra Adventure store to close after four years in Downtown Lodi (18)
• Young woman fatally shot at Acampo home (18)

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No time to rest for area grape harvesters and growers

People may have been enjoying their three-day weekend, having barbecues, spending a day at the beach or hiking in the mountains. But grapes, and grape growers, don't take a day off -- even if it is a day celebrating workers.

Labor Day was like any other day for grape harvesters and wine makers on Monday. Labor Day is a national tribute to workers and their contribution to the economy and well-being of the country, according to the U.S. Department of Labor; the day became an official national holiday in 1894.

During grape season, there is no time for a break. Grapes could be ripe at any minute, and different grapes need to be picked at various levels of maturity for optimum flavor for wine. And on hot days between 97 and 101 degrees like the ones this Labor Day weekend, the grapes ripen the fastest, said Kevin Phillips, director of operations at Michael-David Vineyards. Sugar and acid levels are factors that help grape growers determine when to pick the grapes. The other factor -- opinion. Grape growers look at the vine and grapes and taste them to see if they're ready.

"Mother Nature doesn't care if it's a weekday or 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.," said Mark Chandler, executive director of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. "The grape growers have to respond. They're very much in the thick of it."

The harvesting process is 24 hours a day, seven days a week from the start of the season, which usually lasts six to eight weeks, said John Ledbetter, a partner in Vino Farms. The season began early this year at the end of July and is expected to wrap up in late September. The harvesting process includes hand crews during the day, who cut and pick the grapes by hand, and machine harvesters at night.

"September is one long day," Kevin Phillips said. This time of year, he's used to working from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 or 9:30 p.m., putting in 80- to 90-hour work weeks. He sometimes works through the night with the machine harvesters.

For Michael Phillips, Monday was a regular day, harvesting grapes and scheduling loads. Grapes were coming in from the vineyards to be crushed and fermented; fermented grapes were ready to be strained into pure juice for wine.

"That's why they call it Labor Day, right?" he said with a grin.

The workers who were picking the grapes didn't show signs of stress in the heat of the mid-morning. They whistled and conversed as they worked quickly to cut grapes from the vines and load them in bins. On hot days like Monday, Kevin Phillips said the grape workers are finished by 11 a.m., and they are let off no later than 2 p.m.

Vineyard workers' days off come in the winter months, after the grapes have been harvested and before the vines have to be prepared for spring.

So what would happen if the grape workers took a day off? Ledbetter laughed, saying that the grapes just wouldn't get picked.

"Cows have got to be milked every day," he said. And grapes have to be picked every day, this time of year.

The grape growers do almost every procedure each day.

"We'd get real behind, real fast," if grape workers took a day off, Kevin Phillips said.

On Monday at Michael-David Vineyards, grape workers were picking petite sirah grapes, which are a good variety for blending because of their spicy flavor and dark coloring, Kevin Phillips said. It takes about a half hour for grape workers to pick one pass, which is four rows at a time.

Melissa Phillips, Kevin Phillips' sister, said she's been working with her brother, doing sugar testing.

"We're having optimal conditions this year," she said, because there haven't been many 100-degree days, and the nights have been cool. "In my lifetime, this has been the best harvest."