California still seems to be on course to land a memorably good vintage in 2023, but the flight is not on autopilot; instead, for some it's white-knuckle time.
A cool summer has given most of California the kind of long, slow ripening that leads to great wines – if nothing goes wrong. However, many grape varieties that are normally done by now haven't finished ripening yet, and some may never finish. Also, rain in the last couple of weeks has led to mildew problems in some vineyards.
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It could be worse. Last weekend, the national weather service issued a red-flag fire warning for most of California. Fire and smoke right at the end of harvest would be one of the worst scenarios and many vintners scrambled last week to get grapes in beforehand. The state got lucky, as no major fires have been reported.
But for some, the surprisingly persistent cool temperatures have become a problem on their own.
"We have already had some wineries reject fruit due to the fruit not ripening, which is not the biggest surprise because of the colder year," said Taylor Serres while sitting on a tractor at Serres Ranch in Sonoma Valley. "The varietals that we are having an issue ripening in a colder part of our ranch are Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and Merlot. With the lack of major heat this summer, and now we are facing these [cold] nights, the plants are shutting down and not able to develop more sugar. For the fruit that we harvested, everything is tasting great. I would say this is one of our better years quality-wise because of the longer hang time and no major heat spikes during the growing season."
Fairly or not, the vintage will be judged by the quality of Cabernet Sauvignon. There's mixed news on that front. Wineries that have harvested already are generally stoked about the quality. And Cabernet is more resistant than most varieties to mildew. It's already clear that there will be some great California Cabs from 2023. The question is how much great Cab will there be, because there is still plenty of Cab on the vine.
"We're doing our last picks on Wednesday at Sugar Loaf and Broken Rock vineyards in southern Napa," said Stephen Cruzan, winemaker for Titus Vineyards in St Helena. "We finished harvesting at our home ranch vineyard Monday. Overall this year was average-plus in terms of quantity. It's really good quality, we're really happy, the fermentations taste great and the color and tannin are nicely balanced."
Les Heinsen, owner of Element 79 in Fair Play, said: "I think the Cabernet will be our best in the seven years we've owned the vineyard. All other varietals will be very good quality as well. The hang time for flavor development was excellent."
"We've gone pretty crazy, going fast to get all these late varieties in," said Randy Meyer, director of winemaking for Barra of Mendocino. "Cabernet, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. Some of it isn't going to make it, unfortunately, with the rain we had and the super late season. It's usually Petite Sirah or any kind of low-brix Zinfandel. The Cabernets are pretty bulletproof. They're coming in. The sugar levels are really good. It's just that it's so late that we're running the risk of frost."
Quality the key
Meyer said the quality of the wines seems especially good compared to the last three years.
"In 2020 and '22 when we had a lot of heat, the anthocyanins weren't as developed," Meyer said. "All the wines we've made so far have been really nice. It's shaping up to be excellent. It's just got a few little spots: wines that aren't in a good spot. All of our whites, I've been really pleased. They have a lot more aromatics than last year. That heat, it really creamed the whites last year. This year the whites have a lot more aromatic intensity."
Mold, including the "noble rot" botrytis, is a problem for many vineyards right now. It won't affect wine quality, because it will be removed at the sorting table. But it will affect crop size. Some vineyards may end up never being picked.
"The disease pressure has been incredibly high throughout the season, not just during harvest," said Tom Gendall, director of winemaking and viticulture for Cline Family Cellars in Sonoma. "Generally though, most growers did a fantastic job, opening up canopies early, avoiding clusters on clusters and producing amazing clean fruit. When growers failed to do these things we have seen disease problems."
Gendall, who farms vineyards in several places on the North Coast, also said that some grapes may simply not ripen.
"Although we had more showers and rain spells than we would have liked, we've been exceptionally happy with the fruit we have brought in," he said. "It is not varieties that I am worried about, it is more sites that I am worried about. Our latest and coldest sites will struggle to ripen and with the recent cold mornings I am not expecting huge amounts of ripening progress."
On the plus side for wine lovers, Burgundy varieties ripen early, and the long cool summer might make California versions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay – dare I say it? – unusually Burgundian.
"Luckily, we only grow Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the [cold] Petaluma Gap so we ripened everything," said Scott Welch, director of farming for Jackson Family Wines. "Our earliest picks were slightly lower in sugar, but by the time harvest ended, sugars were just over target brix [ripeness], so I think overall blends and vineyard-designate wines will be beautifully bright and fruity.
"Yields were good," Welch said. "The typical Labor Day heatwave, or any significant heatwaves for that matter, never hit greater Sonoma County this summer or fall, so grape cluster weights were optimal during harvest. It sounds like many growers are 10-20 percent over their estimated yields. I'm already very excited for the '23 vintage potential. Ample rainfall was just what the Petaluma region needed after 2-3 years of extreme drought and the vines responded well – strong canopies, good yields, but not a bumper crop due to the lower fruit potential previously caused by drought. And the cool season led to long hang time for fruit phenolic development, plus no heat wave, so all in all, it was a dream season."
Allie Ketcham, proprietor of Ketcham Estate Winery in the Russian River Valley, said: "We grow only Pinot Noir and our entire vineyard ripened. No problems with mold or botrytis. We were able to get our fruit in before the rain. The quality is stunning. The clusters were beautifully sized and looked to be the best in years. We think the extra time on the vine will make for a stellar vintage."
Jason Haas, general manager of Tablas Creek Vineyard in Paso Robles, said the late finish to the season has created a scramble for tank space.
"Last week was busy," Haas said. "We brought in something like 20 percent of our entire harvest, including Grenache, Grenache Blanc, Vaccarese, Terret Noir, and lots of Mourvedre. Everyone's running on fumes today, but the end is in sight. We're finishing up our last serious red picks, Counoise and Mourvedre, over the next few days, which will mean that all we have out are a few cleanup picks and a good chunk of our Roussanne. For that, we're hoping for another 10 days or so of warm weather. We'll see if we get it before we get a hard freeze. The last couple of nights have been just below freezing, but with our fans it seems like we dodged any major damage. Even if we do get frozen, it doesn't impact the grapes, it just means that we won't get any more ripening because the leaves will be gone. That would just mean we'd pick and live with the lower sugars we're seeing.
"Overall, though, we love what we're seeing in the cellar. Very deep colors and flavors. Lovely freshness. Dream chemistry. Quantities average or a little above, which feels like a windfall after the last two years. We were legitimately worried a month ago whether we'd make it. Now we're just making sure we have space to put it all."
