Early Season Reports on California's 2006 Harvest
It is always of interest to a wine enthusiast to catch an early prospective on the quality of the annual grape harvest. In California in 2006 it is even more intriguing since the State went from an exceptionally wet winter to an extremely hot mid-summer -- and, the news dramatists are talking about Global Warming casting a shadow of doom over our prospects of ever again seeing great wine from the premium grape growings areas of the world.
As a counter to all of the Doom & Gloom oracles, we particularly enjoy the skeptical response from a veteran grape grower, who quipped to George Rose, "Weather computer models have a poor track record. The last time I checked, the Pacific Ocean is still a major cooling influence and forecasters still don’t know what the weather is going to be next Sunday, let alone 100 years from now."
Rose, an truly outstanding photographer who enjoys an alternative career as the spokesman for Kendall-Jackson's growing network of wineries and vineyards, recently sent us some reports from the field regarding K-J's prospects for the 2006 grape harvest. We thought you might find the reporting interesting. Kendall-Jackson farms grapes in five major California cool coastal wine regions and the climate and harvest conditions on the Central Coast are vastly different from the climate conditions on the North Coast. To avoid generalizations about the harvest, Rose reported comments from vineyard managers, region-by-region and the report includes some of California's most important viticultural sub-regional areas:
Napa Valley: "We managed to make it through another rainy winter. A cool spring followed by more rain pushed our normal harvest schedule back by about ten days. The Cabernet Sauvignon displayed vigorous growth again this year due to the high moisture levels in the soil. The warm days and cool nights of July and August brought us back to a slightly normal harvest schedule. We expect to be harvesting grapes through the end of October."--Mariano Navarro, Vineyard Manager
Sonoma County/Russian River: "Pinot Noir crop levels from the Russian River Valley and Shiloh ranches are right on target - up slightly from last year. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir brix levels are running neck and neck this year, with the crop expected to come in about two weeks late. 2006 will be an excellent year for Russian River and Sonoma Coast grapes."--Hector Bedolla, Vineyard Manager
Sonoma County/Alexander Mountain Estate: "In the terraced vineyards of Alexander Mountain Estate, about 1,800 feet above the Alexander Valley floor, climate conditions vary block to block. Overall, the grape berries are very small, with concentrated fruit flavors. The crop tonnage at Kendall-Jackson’s Hawkeye Mountain Estate is average in size. Because of the rugged soils and cool climate, we won’t begin to harvest Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon until the end of September or early October."--Tony Viramontes, Vineyard Manager
Sonoma County/Bennett Valley: "Bennett Valley, one of Sonoma County’s newest AVAs, had near perfect weather during the late spring. Dry, warm days aided the bloom and set. Kendall-Jackson’s Taylor Peak Estate Merlot blocks are producing an ‘average to heavy’ crop this year. We expect to finish harvest by the end of October."--Brandon Axell, Vineyard Manager
Mendocino County: "We are in the process of adding nearly 250 acres of new Pinot Noir vineyards on the Jackson Ridge property above Boonville. Farming on the top of mountains and ridges is always a risky proposition this close to the Pacific Ocean, but this year, conditions worked in our favor. We expect to be picking the Philo and Grizz Ridge grapes by mid-October." --Dennis Winchester, Vineyard Manager
Monterey County: "The planting of our new 450-acre Panorama Vineyard in the Arroyo Seco appellation is nearly complete. Cool evenings and warm days were the norm during September. We’ll begin picking the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay by late-September and into early October."--Bill Hammond, Director of Vineyard Operations
Santa Barbara County: "The grape crop in the Los Alamos region of Santa Barbara is healthy this year. The 2006 harvest will really kick into gear by the end of September. We have heavy morning fog that gives way to sun and heat by noon. This weather pattern provides the perfect conditions for ripeness and maturity." --Grant Cremers, Director of Vineyard Operations