Harvest 2014 Is Upon Us… Very Early!
09/02/2014
A beautiful fall harvest scene in the Russian River Valley.
It’s hard to believe that harvest is already getting going again, but actually, I wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve had a string of early harvests over the last few years and this one is continuing the trend, only even more so.
The dry weather during winter and spring ensured an early bud-break, which has now led to an even earlier harvest. In fact, many wineries already have fruit in the door. That said, many of those who are already fermenting grapes at this point are winemakers experimenting with picking early ripening grape varieties from hotter areas. For example, a friend of mine has Chenin Blanc he sources from Lodi in the Sacramento Delta area already in the door and it’s almost done with fermentation—I guess that’s what happens when you pick in July! But, for those of us making wines from more traditional California grapes and regions, we’re still two weeks out or so.
This year promises to be great in terms of overall quality. Based on my own observations, as well as in speaking to other winemakers, I am very pleased with the overall quality as well as the yield of grapes per acre. Flavors are great and developing along well. The color I’m seeing in red varietals is fantastic. One thing of note, I’m seeing clusters with very small berries, which are great but can also present some challenges.
While it’s hard to speak of the quality of wine before it’s made, small berries can be a great positive indicator. The smaller berry size means that the fermenting wine will have a greater skin to juice ration, resulting in more flavor and intensity in the wine. The challenge can be in over extracted or overly tannic wines, but as long as the winemaker is conscious of this risk and pulls back during winemaking, all should be fine.
One great fear we had with this early harvest was that grapes might not get enough time on the vine to really develop optimal flavor. This can yield grapes with very high sugars that must be picked before high alcohol becomes an issue. Luckily, we’ve had some warmer days in the last week with temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s that are expected to continue. If that weather does continue it will be a perfect way to cap a really nice growing season.
I’ll report again as we get more into harvest and start making the 2014 vintage!
Cheers!
Drew Huffine
Winemaker
Post By:
Drew Huffine