Harvest 2016 Report: Great Grapes, Good Numbers

2015 put the fear of god into many winemakers, if god is someone who doesn’t like grapes. Yields were down across California, often 50% down. The dreaded drought that began in 2012 continued, and while the quality of the grapes was strong, their amount was scant. “As much as we hate the drought,” Doug Margerum of Margerum Wine points out, “The struggling vines are giving us some pretty magnificent fruit to work with.”

Wat to read the rest then do so at the Santa Barbara Vintners Association blog.

Grape Harvest 2015: Early, Tasty, Very Small

That I'm writing my harvest column a month earlier than last year, which featured winemakers talking about the surprisingly early 2014 harvest, is a hint something historic is afoot. Welcome to Drought Does California, 2015 edition.

Up in the Santa Lucia Highlands, long-time grape-grower Rich Smith (a veteran of 42 harvests) said a week ago, "We've already got hang-time. We've got color in syrah which is usually still green. That means low yield and smaller berries, so the skin-to-volume ratio goes up, which makes winemakers happy and growers not so much."

Want ot read the rest then do so at KCET's Food Blog.

A Look at the 2014 California Wine Harvest

Well, we may run out of water, but we won't run out of wine -- at least not the 2014 vintage. For while the drought ravages California, checking in with several winemakers in Santa Barbara suggests the 2014 vintage will have relatively high yields. Michael Larner of Larner Vineyard & Winery thinks the yields might be "because grape growers compensated for the lack of rain via irrigation, which may have given the vines more water directly at their disposal, or the warmth of the vintage convinced the vines to be more prolific. Either way, most vineyards are experiencing higher to slightly higher yields, and the grapes themselves seem to be overall a little more juicy than other years."

Want to read the rest then do so at the KCET Food Blog.