2012: A Good Year in the Vineyards
California winemakers are excited about 2012, presuming Mother Nature continues to cooperate
Posted: Aug 1, 2012 12:00pm ET
There are a
lot of happy faces in California wine country right now. Not to jinx it, but
things are looking great in the vineyards.
"So far, this year's weather has been pretty much
perfect," Jason Haas of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles said. That holds
true up north in Sonoma County, where Pete Seghesio of Seghesio Vineyards said,
"The season has been a Goldilocks experience so far—not too hot, not too
cold, just the right amount of sun and fog."
I'm not
sure there is a "normal" anymore when it comes to California's growing season,
but growers and vintners certainly deserve a first-class, easygoing vintage.
The 2010 and 2011 vintages were like suspense novels with cruel endings, and
even 2009 had its challenges. "It has been so long since we've had a normal
year that normal feels abnormal," Mike Officer of Carlisle said.
The timing
of the season is back on track this year after running weeks behind in the two
previous vintages. (Which meant a lot of grapes were still hanging when
early rains hit.) "It's so nice to be average," Justin Smith of Saxum in Paso
Robles said. "Two weeks ahead of last year makes us about dead average."
Most
vineyards around the state are going through veraison, a crucial period when
the grapes begin to soften and start losing their green color, taking on shades
of red or yellow depending on the variety. Basically, the grapes stop growing
in size and start accumulating sugar.
Veraison
is also a vague indication of when harvest will begin—about six weeks later, in
general.
Chuck
Wagner of Caymus harvests Cabernet Sauvignon from all over Napa Valley and he said most vineyards are only 10 to 20 percent through veraison. "The crop size is
moderate and the vines are healthy."
Bob Cabral
of Williams Selyem said his Pinot Noir vineyards along Westside Road in the
heart of Russian River Valley are about 90 percent through veraison, and while
Adam Lee of Siduri reported that his Russian River Pinot is a bit behind that,
veraison has yet to start with his Sonoma Coast Pinots.
"[Fruit] set was
great," Smith said of his Central Coast vineyards. "There's more fruit than the
last three years, but not too much. It's looking very similar to 2007 at this
point. There are only a couple berries that have turned [color] on hilltop
Syrah; everything else is a couple weeks out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it
continues."
Zinfandel
vines in Napa and Sonoma are just getting started with veraison, said Steve
Hall of Robert Biale Vineyards. "A little cool weather just the past few
weeks pushed our estimated pick of the warmer [region] Zins to the second and
third week of September, fingers crossed."
For now,
winemakers say they're trying not to get their hopes up … yet. "I am extremely
positive up to this point," Cabral said, "but Mother Nature can be cruel late
in the game." Added Officer: "There's still a lot of weather between now and
harvest. Still, we're due for a good one and this very well may be it."
Bill Easton of Terre Rouge & Easton Wines in the Sierra Foothills has this to offer:
Weather has been perfect. Earlier than the late, late, last year. We are kind of tracking like 2010. I suspect we will start with Sauvignon Blanc around the 7th of September. Last year it was the 13th of September and we have picked it as early as the 23rd of August. Most reds to start the latter part of September. Our crop looks larger this year (more bunches), but the bunches are smaller and the berries are smaller. Total weight should be up this year. It looks like we will be doing some cluster removal this year as crops were not affected by frost.. We have not started verasion in the Foothills at our ranches. Probably soon.
We will see what August brings us weather wise. We have been running 85˚F - 95˚F lately. There has been quite a bit of onshore flow through the Delta this year.