California set for a "picture perfect" harvest
A “Picture perfect” Californian growing season is gearing up for a “landmark harvest” according to the Napa Valley Grapegrowers.
The growing season started just after rain in February, which was followed by mild spring weather making for an extended bloom and at set the conditions were perfect, with sunshine, mild temperatures and no winds.
The fruit continued to ripen during the summer months and from June to early August temperatures were steady and warm with no heat spikes, creating “ideal” conditions for the final stretch before harvest.
Growers in Napa Valley are preparing for a long, steady harvest reaching well into October when thicker-skin grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon will be picked.
“It’s an exciting time of the year. We’re expecting fantastic fruit character expression from these grapes being harvested,” said Patrick Riggs, viticulturist at Domaine Chandon, who began picking Chardonnay at the sparkling wine estate’s Yountville vineyard on Tuesday night.
“Our first pick will be in about two weeks, which means we are getting everything in order while keeping a close eye on the grapes still on the vine,” added Sam Kaplan, vineyard manager and winemaker at Arkenstone. Last October the region was hit by the North Bay complex wildfires, and while most of the grapes had already been harvested some vines were exposed to high heat. During their dormancy in the winter, these vines repaired themselves, according to the Napa Valley Graprowers making a complete recovery and leading to “one of the best growing seasons to date”. The body claimed that “The first grapes coming in are of exceptional quality."
The harvest is taking place amid the largest wildfire in California’s history, which coninues to blaze, with the larger of the Mendocino Complex fires – the Ranch fire – now covering an area of 305,000 acres and threatening over 1,000 buildings. The smaller Ranch fire has now been 100% contained, while the River fire was 68% on Tuesday with firefighters forecasting that it would not be fully controlled until September.