Excellent quality harvest in California

Fresh off the press: the harvest report from California winemakers. They predict that this year will go down in the books as a memorable harvest. The winemakers enjoyed a relatively carefree harvest period, preceded by a consistent growing season. Read their personal reaction below! SOURCE + IMAGE CALIFORNIA WINE INSTITUTE

Eye report 2021

In many regions, picking started early, including the North Coast, where harvesting started ranging from a week to several weeks earlier than average. However, the Central Coast region was a bit cooler than normal, so there they actually started a bit later.

Grapes for sparkling wine are normally picked earlier than the rest, but this year, for example, sauvignon blanc was ripe earlier. In addition, other varieties were also ripe earlier than normal, so the pickers had their hands full harvesting several grape varieties at the same time!

The prolonged drought resulted in lower yields, but winemakers have seen outstanding quality and fantastic concentration in the fruit as a result.

Notes from the winemakers (their wines are for sale in the Netherlands!):

Corey Beck of Delicato Family Wines: 'We experienced drought in Napa and Sonoma County, which led to lower cluster weights. The good news is that we are seeing a fantastic concentration of flavours and colours in our reds. Our vineyards in Lodi and Central Coast share a similar story due to moderate summer and drought conditions, resulting in lighter grape structure.' Beck is particularly enthusiastic about the Chardonnay, which shows vibrant flavours, as does the Cabernet Sauvignon.

Niki Wente of Wente Vineyards began picking in Livermore Valley earlier than usual, around the second week of August. Harvesting in the winery's vineyards in Monterey County started about two weeks earlier than average because of cold temperatures throughout the season, while grapes from Arroyo Seco vineyards were not ready until the last week of September. 'There is a lot of flavour concentration and very small berries,' Wente said, 'especially for Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux red varieties. This will also be a solid vintage for white wines. They will be very pretty and floral.'

Steve Peck of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines saw a large amount of rainfall in his Paso Robles vineyards this year. However, most of the rainfall fell during a single storm, which allowed the water to drain well. Steve: 'The grapes were a bit smaller this year because of that rainfall. But yields were average, with fruit showing more structure and higher tannin levels than normal. People who like that intense mouthfeel will be very pleased with 2021.'

Sustainable harvest

California produces about 80 per cent of US wines, making it the world's fourth largest producer. More than 80 per cent of California wine is made by a 'Certified Sustainable California Winery' and more than half of the 260,000 hectares of planted grapes are certified under one of the sustainable programmes: Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing, Lodi Rules, Napa Green and SIP-certified.

Together with conservation for future generations, many of the sustainable applications offer better and higher-quality harvests.

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