Sonoma Valley’s wine grape harvest looks light in drought

For producers of sparkling wine, harvest is underway, and while the grapes for still wines will hang on the vines for several more weeks to ripen, wine grape growers are optimistic about the quality of this year’s vintage in spite of the drought.

“In the end, Mother Nature has complete control – we kind of play our hand as we get it,” said Taylor Serres, of Serres Ranch. She is the sixth generation of her family to farm the land here.

Karissa Kruse, president of Sonoma County Winegrowers, said harvest officially started in Sonoma County on Aug. 5 for grapes used in sparkling wines and rosés, and agreed with Serres’ assessment.

“It wouldn’t be farming if it was predictable. Once again, the harvest season kicks off with some uncertainty of the impact of the drought, but also with the optimism and anticipation that comes with each season,” Kruse said. “This is similar to last year’s timing, which seems to be on average earlier most seasons than a decade ago. Fortunately, vineyards are a very low water use/water efficient crop, however the third year of a drought will most likely have an impact on overall crop size, predicted to be lighter than average.”

The drought is affecting wine grape growers throughout the region, and though Serres Ranch has a well, they are using “very minimal” water, Serres said.

“This crop is much lighter than years past,” Serres said, though before fruit set they had hopes of a larger crop.

Kruse said that “grape growers have been implementing additional monitoring of soil moisture and are scaling back water use for minimal maintenance of the overall vine health, especially in young vines. Earlier in the season, they also closely managed green growth and tillage options to remove competition for water in the soil.”

Like Serres, Kruse said, “Some growers have scaled back over 50% of their water use even without curtailments. There are some concerns about the overall long-term vine health and our ability to fill our reservoirs, especially if we don’t get post-harvest rains this year.”

Danny Fay, co-owner of Hill of Tara wines, is experiencing a similar vintage to Serres.

“For Hill of Tara wines, which sources and farms Bordeaux varietals exclusively in the Moon Mountain district, we are experiencing slightly lower yields, lighter canopies and smaller berries this year. Should make excellent wine quality. We’re slightly ahead of schedule, but have a long way to go on the mountain,” Fay said.

Not all growers are looking at lower yields. John Balletto of Balletto Vineyards said they are “seeing a normal crop size for us,” and the quality of the grapes harvested on Aug. 12 was “perfect” and the “weather has been spot on.”

Sparkling wine producer Gloria Ferrer harvested its first 10 tons of chardonnay on Aug. 12 from the vineyard at the winery, and expects to continue harvesting grapes for sparkling wine — which are picked earlier than grapes grown for still wine — for another four or five weeks, said Harry Hansen, director of winemaking.

“I’m pretty bullish on this year’s harvest. Our harvest is maybe a little bit above average in terms of yield. It’s owed in large part to the fact that the vines are sitting on clay soils that give a lot of water back,” Hansen said.

Hansen recently re-joined Gloria Ferrer in June after nearly a decade with Sterling Vineyards in Calistoga. He worked for Gloria Ferrer previously from 1986 to 2001 and said there are a handful of people who are still on staff, making him feel right at home again, he said.

Hansen said the grapes for the still wines that Gloria Ferrer produces are coming along nicely, but because red grapes in particular will stay on the vines until the brix, or sugar levels, reach the winemaker’s preferred level, there is a risk of dehydration.

There is also optimism for this vintage, though.

“Overall, it seems like the grape marketplace is very balanced as wineries and growers try to come back from a year of COVID-19 and wildfire impacts. And of course, like every year, harvest brings an excitement of the culmination of a year’s work of farming and caretaking of the land and grapes and the anticipation of a delicious 2021 Sonoma County wine to be enjoyed in the future,” Kruse said.

Tony Moll, co-owner of Three Fat Guys Wines, is upbeat about this vintage, saying, “What we’re looking at is another exciting year for us.”

Moll said he’s got a few “tricks” up his sleeve in the future to help counter last year’s losses when he and others such as Serres didn’t pick a single grape because of the smoke taint from the Glass Fire.

The 2020 Glass Fire tore through the Schramsberg Vineyards’ property in Calistoga where they grow cabernet sauvignon for still wine under the J. Davies label. But on Aug. 11, proprietor Hugh Davies toasted their harvest kick-off with 10 tons of chardonnay grapes grown from the Lavender Hill vineyard in the Carneros region that will go into Schramsberg’s sparkling wine program. The celebration was an emotional one for some, and Davies choked up recalling the day the fire threatened him, his employees, family and property where he lives and was raised.

CalFire Capt. Jason Downs was among the first firefighters to come to Schramsberg’s rescue and received a heartfelt thank-you from Davies during last week’s toast.

“As crazy as that fire was, all of our buildings are still here,” Davies said.

Schramsberg added about 20 more sites to its list of vineyard partners, said Sean Thompson, director of winemaking, and is among those trying to make up for 2020’s losses.

Others, such as Tom Eddy, proprietor and winemaker for his eponymous winery, Tom Eddy Wines, decided to get creative with his smoke-tainted grapes and used the juice from that to make brandy. Serres said she heard another local winery had pivoted and is now making vermouth.

Serres and others have their fingers crossed that this season will finish strong with no wildfires and no smoke.

“Farming is not for the faint of heart. It’s in our blood,” she said.