It’s going to be hot the next few days in Sonoma County. This will bring a frenzy of activity as growers harvest their grapes.
In speaking with several growers over the weekend, none have found any damage after the rains nine days ago.
Here is a round up on what will be picked this week by area:
- Alexander Valley: Jim Murphy will be harvesting Chardonnay this week. He mentioned that the rain last week probably was helpful in freshening up the vines.
- Knights Valley: Tim Carl finished up his Sauvignon Blanc and is in the middle of Chardonnay. Crop is about 10 percent higher than average.
- Dry Creek Valley: Brad Peterson picked 41 tons of Dry Creek Zinfandel on Saturday and is starting Cabernet Sauvignon today. Duff Bevill is picking Zinfandel on the western hills at the north end of the valley. Sauvignon Blanc is pretty much finished and Merlot will be in full swing this week. Chardonnay still needs some more time to ripen.
- Russian River Valley: John Balletto is harvesting Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Duff Bevill also states that they picked Russian River Pinot Noir last week at night and all the berries had great color, flavors and “wonderful quality overall.”
- Carnernos: Steve Sangiacomo reports that harvest in now in full force and Chardonnay is picking up.
- Sonoma Coast/Petuluma Gap: Joan Griffin says that she finished Pinot Noir last week and Syrah is ripening quickly–should be ready in a week or two. She reports that the Pinot was mature at much lower brix with great flavors and lower alcohol wines.
- Marin County: Mark Pasternak is finishing Pinot Noir for sparkling today and just beginning to pick the rest of the Marin Pinot Noir. He says “quality continues to be excellent and the bulk of Marin grapes will be harvested in October–not unusal for this cooler area.”
Report by Larry Levine, Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.