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  • Close-up of a cluster of Pinot Noir grapes changing from green to purple with a little morning dew.
    Purple Ripe clusters of Pinot Noir grapes on green leafy vines.
    Backlit yellow and green grape leaves and clusters of pinot noir grapes on vineyard trellises that extend into infinity.
    Pinot Noir grapes at their various stages of being crushed and juiced prior to fermentation.
    Pinot Noir grapes at their various stages of being crushed and juiced prior to fermentation.
    Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.
    Dark purple Pinot Noir grapes ripe and just days from harvest in the autumn sun.
    Black and white high contrast photo of wild winter grape vines
    Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.
    Close up of green and purple grapes sprinkled with morning dew.
    Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.
    Pinot Noir grapes of different colors ripen on the vine.
  • Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.
    Bunches of green Chardonnay grapes ripen on the vine.
    Wine grapes in their ripening stage.
    A cluster of green Chardonnay grapes ripen on the vine.
    Wine grapes in their ripening stage.
    Red Pinot Noir grapes against a red leaf background.
    Ripe purple Pinot Noir grapes.
    Close-up of hands and clippers pruning winter grape vines.
    Close up photo of colorful green and red buds that will grow into clusters of Chardonnay grapes.
    Clusters of green Chardonnay grapes with a single grape illuminated by sunlight.
    Wine grapes in their ripening stage.
    Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.
  • Cluster of ripe Pinot Noir grapes surrounded by green leaves.
    Cluster of ripe Pinot Noir grapes surrounded by green leaves.
    Vineyard worker on an ATC racing through the vineyard rows.
    Cluster of green Chardonnay grapes dripping wet.
    Cluster of green Chardonnay grapes.
    Shriveled black and blue grapes against yellow leaves.
    Close up of ripe purple grapes.
    Bunches of wet ripe Pinot Noir grapes on the vine.
    Green wine grapes ripen on the vine.
    Tiny grapes populate a vine against a green leaf.
    Close-up of twisted red grapevine.
    Green, red and purple Pinot Noir grape leaf backlit by the sun.
  • Unpruned leafless red grapevines line up against a pale blue sky.
    Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.
    Pinot Noir grapes at their various stages of being crushed and juiced prior to fermentation.
    Pinot Noir grapes at their various stages of being crushed and juiced prior to fermentation.
    Pinot Noir grapes at their various stages of being crushed and juiced prior to fermentation.
    Pinot Noir grapes at their various stages of being crushed and juiced prior to fermentation.
    Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.
    Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.
    Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.
    Close-up of grape blossom covered with tiny drops of water.
    Close up of young grapes on the vine.
  • Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.
    A single brightly colored red, orange, yellow, and green pinot noir leaf sharp with detail cutout on a black background.
    Red Pinot Noir grape leaves in a line on a vine in front of a blue sky.
    Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.
    Part of a year-long project photographing the vineyards and winemaking of Smith Family Wines.
    Part of a year-long project photographing the vineyards and winemaking of Smith Family Wines.
    Product photo of a Scheid wine bottle in its vineyard of origin for marketing.
    Close up of the first bud break on a grapevine.
    Long exposure of a wine grape harvester at night when the air is cool.
    Long exposure of a wine grape harvester at night when the air is cool.
    Long exposure of a wine grape harvester at night when the air is cool.
    Green Chardonnay grapes ripen on the vine with a spiders web in the background.
  • Pinot Noir grapes of different colors ripen on the vine.
    Wild red grape vines contrast against green grass and blue sky.
    Columns of twisted barren grape vines in the fog in black and white.
    Black and white photo of Monterey County Pinot Noir grapes ready to harvest.
    Rows of blossoming grape vines in black and white.
    Rows of grape vines with black grape clusters and white leaves.
    Hundreds of tiny drops of water cover a close-up of a blossoming grape vine.
    Photo of vines and buds that will grow into clusters of Chardonnay grapes.
    Blowing white grape buds blossom with a scattering of water droplets on a black background.
    Close up photo of grapevine and leaf in black and white.
    Silhouetted barren grape vines reach up to a cloudy sky with a cluster of dried grapes that never dropped.
    Silhouetted barren grape vines with the sun in the sky.
  • Barren grapevine forms the shape of a cross in black and white.
    Black and white photo of wild grape vines.
    Water drops in a spider’s web.

Wine & Vineyard Photography – Grapes & Vines

Steve Zmak has done a number of assignments for California wineries and wine organizations including conceptual photo illustrations for magazine covers, location and studio bottle shots, event coverage, advertising photos, portraits, label and website design, and of course the grapes, vines and vineyard landscape. His photographic imagery goes beyond the literal presentation of a subject to releasing its energy and exposing its inner light in new and unique ways, including his award-winning Lens Painting technique for a painterly effect.

Steve Zmak is a longtime member of the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association (MCVGA), and many of his photos are used on their website and print publications. Zmak also shoots for the Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans and River Road Wine Trail Association, and is a part of the permanent collection of the Monterey County Agricultural Museum. His photography clients include Hahn Family Wines, Scheid Vineyards, Pessagno Winery, Morgan Winery, Sarah’s Vineyard, Austin Harlow Winery, Smith Family Wines & Paraiso Vineyards, Joullian Vineyards, and Chateau Margene. His photos have appeared on the cover of Wine & Travel magazine 5 times.

Painterly looking photo of being sucked into a vineyard.

The vineyard at Hunter Hill Vineyard & Winery was so inviting that it just sucked me in. Lens painting is the only way I could illustrate this emotional energy, and I use this technique frequently in my vineyard photos.

 

Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.

Part of a year-long project photographing the farmland of Scheid Family Wines for a 2020 calendar.

 

Wine grapes are best harvested at night when the tempertures are cool so the fruit isn't damaged by the daytime heat.

Midnight Pinot Noir harvest in the Salinas Valley by the light of a full moon.