From the North Bay Business Journal

The North Bay Business Journal saya “Many vineyards in the North Coast this year had two grape clusters per shoot, and this indicated the likelihood of an average crop load. With the mild summer, however, the berries kept sizing — getting larger — and the crop has begun to weigh in significantly above average. This has certainly been the case for chardonnay and pinot noir harvested for both sparkling and still-wine programs.”

The complete article can be found HERE.

Randi Rossman of The Press Democrat has a good story about the rush to get the grape harvest done before the winter rains start. Rossman reports that “By midnight Sunday, Sonoma County grape experts predicted about 80 percent of the year’s overall crop would be picked.

What’s left mostly will be cabernet sauvignon, a tougher grape that can handle a little rain, said Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.

“The impact should be fairly minimal,” Frey said.

The complete article in The Press Democrat can be found HERE.

The California grape harvest is moving well, much better than last year.  Growers are reporting clear and warm harvest weather, good yields and the highest harvest time prices in decades.

The icing on the cake for one of the best growing seasons in several years for Jean-Pierre Wolff, proprietor of Wolff Vineyards and Winery in Edna Valley near San Luis Obispo, Calif., is the excellent quality of his 125 acres of grapes.

Wolff told GrapeLine his 12th grape harvest is “significantly better,” not only for him, but for all his San Luis Obispo County neighbors.