Both, I’d say. Quality is looking excellent.
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Things are moving along here nicely in SBC but the cooler weather earlier in the summer definitely slowed things down - and I have heard of powdery mildew issues here and there.
A big concern at present is limited potential smoke taint due to the Gifford Fire east of Santa Maria. It is affecting vineyards in Arroyo Grande (think Talley, possibly Andremily’s Slide Hill and even Alban), vineyards in Santa Maria (Bien Nacido) and vineyards near Zaca Lake (Foxen, Zaca Mesa, possibly others along Foxen Canyon Road).
This is a bummer as the Lake Fire last year caused issues with some of the same sites along Foxen Canyon Road . . . Too early to tell but quite worrying
Cheers
10-day forecast in Carneros and much of Sonoma Pinot land has highs hovering mostly in the 70s to low 80s. Perfect. Pinot is mostly through veraison, Brix in the mid to high teens. Seeing a couple people start picking select sites for Rose and Sparkling, starting to eye up Sauvignon Blanc. We’re some weeks away from the main crush of things but the energy is definitely building.
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Finishing up Verasion in our CS this week in Saint Helena.
While almost everything else (Calistoga SB, Crystal Springs CS, and Coombsville CS) is 1-2 weeks behind 2024, these 34-year-old vines are about 1 week ahead of last year.
Overall a moderate season so far, definitely warmer up here than the south half of valley. Luckily this vineyard lies in the pinch between the Vaca and Mayacamas near Lodi lane so there is great air flow and relief from the afternoon high temps.
Looking very good so far!
2024
2025
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I guess i put this news here but doubt it will get many eyeballs. I talked to a young mover and shaker in the industry for about 45 mins yesterday. Things could not be worse. Custom crush houses are not having anyone call them. Grapes are almost free everywhere you go. I guess 100,000 acres have been removed in CA and its not enough. He says they need 20% of the brands to go away…and they probably will. He said you can buy hundreds of tons of Napa Cab for $1000/ton. This guy is in the custom crush biz…and grows fruit too. Hes pretty shocked that someone hasn’t come to him with a new project idea. Don’t look for next year to get any better. Its not going to be a V bottom or rapid recovery.
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Yep - and I’ve seen more than one post on places like FB asking for folks to PLEASE purchase their hundreds of tons of fruit since they have zero contracts for them
Cheers
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Yeah, one of my friends who does custom crush got a great deal on some quality Napa Cab last year. Split between 3 clients. He got to choose the pick date and get exactly what he wanted. In previous times, the desperate sellers were very last minute or the fruit was already past where most people I’ve worked with would want it in ripeness. These days the desperation to find buyers is ongoing. There is absolutely fantastic fruit available. Producers are generally cutting back on the volume they buy, to meet the new sales level and sell through existing inventory. They are already making those tough choices of dropping some wines they’ve been making entirely. They’d have to drop yet another wine to pick up a new one.
The custom crush labels I worked around that were struggling with conventional sales models already didn’t make wine last year and are done. The ones still going have their own unique niches and seem to be doing fine.
The precipitous decline in wine demand along with deportation-related labor issues looks like a devastating perfect storm for the California wine industry.
We are picking sb starting tomorrow
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What are people’s thoughts on potential smoke taint in Pope Valley? I have heard that it is 100% loss from one source, and 0% loss from a couple of others.
I was speaking to a winemaker in Willamette Valley today who told me that he was already picking for his sparkling wines.
Forecast heat in Nor Cal but extreme for BC
Not a grape growing report but looks good for El Dorado grape growers and wineries. From the Sacramento Bee Food and Wine newsletter.
** This year’s Apple Hill fall season will not be one to miss, according to Chris Delfino, a longtime grower in the region.
He said this year’s fruit harvest is the best he has seen in the three decades he has been at Delfino Farms, nestled in the foothills of El Dorado County.
The 2025 growing season’s weather was ideal, allowing for beautifully balanced sweetness and flavor across not just the eponymous apples, but everything from peaches to pears grown at the Apple Hill Growers Association’s more than 40 farms and ranches.
“When you bite into that apple or that pear, (the flavor is) going to be off the charts,” he said.
Chill overnight temperatures, no significant winter freezes and plentiful winter and spring rain helped apple blossoms flourish across the orchard early in the season, Delfino said. Once blossoms gave way to fruits, the apples’ fate was left to the mercy of summer weather.
Thankfully, much of Northern California had a relatively mild summer compared to recent years, which Delfino said is imperative for the best development of the fruit’s natural sugars and tart flavors.
“Cool nights are very important, but the days we want to be warm but not really warm,” he said. “When (the temperature is) over 100 (degrees) consistently, the sugar count and the flavor kind of separate.”
Delfino said this year’s success is all thanks to Mother Nature for the perfect alignment of weather throughout the growing season.**
“Weather and blossom, if they’re parallel to each other — which they were like they’ve never been before in my 30-plus years — then you’re going to get an incredible year,” he said.
With this year’s fruit expected to be top-notch, Delfino said the quality will extend to the plethora of apple-based products growers in the area produce, including pies, donuts, empanadas, caramel apples and cider. The outstanding growing season will also benefit future products, namely wine.
According to Delfino, the wine made from this year’s fruit will be bottled starting in two years, and he said it’s likely to be “one of the greatest wines we’ve ever had.”
Many growers in the Apple Hill association have already opened their orchards and farms for customers to visit. Visitors can pick their own fruit at select orchards, while many others sell fruit, cider and other classic fall treats at their stores.
However, the official fall season opening is Friday, when all farms will open for business in time for Labor Day and through the fall and early winter.
If you can’t make it up to Apple Hill before apples are phased out for Christmas trees, you can find Barsotti Juice’s apple cider and other drinks at Raley’s supermarkets.
The harvest at Delfino Farms this year will amount to hundreds of thousands of pounds of apples, while other area growers, like High Hill Ranch, will see one million pounds of the fruit this year, according to Delfino.
“We’re already picking the early varieties — the Honeycrisp and the Galas — but it’s go time up here,” he said. “We’re making apple pies at Delfino Farms since last weekend and we won’t stop until Christmas.”
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WE had largest crop of Sauv Blanc in 10 years!!
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Rain in the north Bay Area?
.05in in Saint Helena
Just sitting here (Russian River) watching Pinot sit at 20 Brix for the last 2 weeks…some heat over the next week, should move things along.
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