WINE COUNTRY -- On late summer mornings -- before the hot-air balloons rise and the first wine-samplers sidle up to tasting room bars -- workers head into the vineyards of Temecula's Wine Country to pick the grapes, which have reached the end of their growing season.

That time is now in Temecula's wine region with the harvest of this year's crop well under way.

On Saturday, about a dozen workers gathered before sunrise in the parking lot of Hart Winery on Rancho California Road.

There was muffled talk and occasional laughter as the workers, members of a veteran crew employed by vineyard management company Drake Enterprises, prepared for the morning's work.

Just before 6 a.m. as if on a silent cue, each man picks a white plastic basket -- bus boy trays purchased at a Temecula restaurant supply store --- walks down the driveway and, on this morning, into the rows of sauvignon blanc grapes that are ready to be picked.

This is a late start for this crew. On many days, the picking begins between 3 and 4 a.m. under portable lights.

The start of each work day varies depending on several factors, including the variety of grape and the amount of fruit needed to be picked.

The crew actually prefers earlier start times, when there are fewer bees.

The wine growers like it, too.

"The fruit is at its highest quality early in the morning when it's cool," said company owner Ben Drake.

No matter when they start, the daily picking is generally done by 9 a.m.

Between the rows

The tractor that hauls a large gondola between the rows starts up and the men begin their work in the vineyard with small, sharp knives, picking off the ripe fruit and dumping it in their individual buckets. When those buckets are full, they race over to the gondola and dump grapes inside. Then it's right back to the vines.

Each gondola holds about two tons of fruit.

Teamwork is the key. The entire crew gets paid, not the individual, for each ton picked.

The faster the work gets done, the more money the crew makes per hour.

"The crews monitor themselves," Drake said. "If one guy gets a little bit lazy, the others will want to get rid of him."

Maximo Ugalde has been Drake's foreman for more than two decades.

"I call the workers the day before and tell them where we're going to meet," Ugalde said.

He also keeps a veteran's eye on his pickers making sure they don't pass over ripe fruit hidden under leaves or dump moldy grapes into the gondola.

"We have a rule here," Drake said. "If you won't eat it, don't put it in the gondola."

Years of experience

There are roughly 1,800 acres of grapes to be picked this year in Temecula Valley's Wine Country. The harvest began in early August and will extend to early October.

Hart Winery, one of the valley's oldest -- Joe Hart planted his first grapes in 1974 -- has about 11 acres to be harvested.

Some of Temecula wineries have from 150 to 200 acres to be picked.

Drake and his company manage about 400 acre of vineyards, harvesting grapes for eight Temecula wineries.

In the months when they are not picking grapes, Drake's crew tends to those vineyards and works on other projects in the local wine region.

Drake first came to Temecula in the early 1970s to work for the developers of Rancho California. In 1980, he started his own vineyard management company. In addition to vineyards, his company oversees local avocado and citrus groves.

This time of year, Drake's work week has seven days, all of them starting in the very early morning.

"I could have someone else come out here every morning," he said. "But I've developed a relationship with these wineries over the years."

He knows there are many early mornings to come and many tons of fruit to pick before this harvest season is over.

"The best day each season is when I deliver the last gondola of grapes," Drake said with a laugh.

About 6:45 a.m. the sun makes its first appearance, creeping over the rolling hills and lush vineyards to the east.

Drake looks at the hard-working crew and the gondola which, in less than an hour, is about two-thirds full.

"How about that?" he asked. "Almost two tons picked before the sun came up."

Contact staff writer John Hunneman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2603, or hunneman@californian.com.