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September 2018 WINES&VINES 15 BOB MCCLENAHAN WINE INDUSTRY NEWS B ins of sparkling wine grapes have started to hit crush pads in the North Coast of Califor- nia signaling the start of the 2018 harvest. Growers throughout California are optimistic regarding both the quality and quantity of grapes based on conditions through the spring and early summer. Other states, such as Texas, are deep into the harvest and report an excep- tional year, while growers in the Northwest are just hitting the mid- point of veraison and there too the mood is optimistic. The only dark cloud, both lit- erally and figuratively, are tower- ing pillars of smoke from raging wild fires that have spread into remote parts of Northern Califor- nia and elsewhere. The Mendocino Complex fire, which includes the River Fire and much larger Ranch Fire were of the most concern in early August as the flames came close to vineyards and populated areas of Mendocino and Lake county. Firefighters were able to check the blazes but they then advanced deep into more remote areas. The River Fire was 100% contained as Wines & Vines went to press but had burned nearly 50,000 acres, while the Ranch Fire was only 64% contained and had become the state's largest fire in history at nearly 315,000 acres ac- cording to CalFire. Six firefighters have died in California this year. While the fires have covered much of the state's premier wine regions in smoke or haze, most growers and winemakers are hop- ing it came early enough in the vintage to miss the worst effects of smoke taint. Jon Ruel, CEO and former vi- ticulturist for Trefethen Family Vineyards, said in late July that some smoke was visible in the sky above the Oak Knoll estate and toward the east. During veraison, grapes are more susceptible to smoke taint: as the fruit matures, the skin gets softer and compounds called vola- tile phenols found in fire smoke can easily permeate that supple skin, manipulating the molecular compositions, causing what is known as smoke taint. Ruel said none of the fires or resulting smoke are close enough to the Trefethen estate vineyards to make him or his vineyard man- agement team worried about the 2018 harvest. "That said, with the devastating fires around Napa and Sonoma Counties last year, we are all certainly on edge," he said. When asked about this year's harvest, Ruel remains happily op- timistic. "The 2018 vintage is looking very good!" Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes saw "typical timing" for bud break in late March, followed shortly thereafter by the Bordeaux varieties in late March, Ruel said. However, he said the spring tem- peratures were overall cooler than average, thus growth was slow. "One of the benefits of the slow growth was that it made it easier for our crews to keep up with suckering the vines," he said. Ripening just a few days behind normal But, as for timing, Ruel said that overall the vines are still running a few days behind due to those cool temperatures in April. "It's only a few days, maybe a week, behind," he said. "But it feels like much more because the last few vintages were all so early." Up Valley, Sam Kaplan, wine- maker and vineyard manager at Arkenstone Vineyards, has a simi- lar story. "At this point, I'm very optimistic that we're on track for a great harvest," he said. Arken- stone's Howell Mountain estate vineyards are 13 acres of predomi- nantly Bordeaux varieties. Kaplan said at the beginning of the growing season, due to cooler than average spring tem- peratures, he thought the vines were tracking about 10 days be- hind previous vintages, but a July heat spike, with days warming to between 80° F and 90° F, have "let the vines catch up." "We're ex- pecting a normal start time to harvest," he said, which, atop Howell Mountain, is usually the first week of September. And the crop at Arkenstone looks healthy. "It's not too heavy, not too light, clusters are open but not too huge, which is typi- cally nice for quality," Kaplan said. He estimates his vines will yield between 2.5 to 3 tons per acre — a low but healthy yield he said is on par with the past few vintages. Conditions favorable in Sonoma County In Sonoma County, John Olney, COO and winemaker for Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs, said So- noma's Dry Creek Valley experi- enced a completely dry February, TOP STORY As 2018 Harvest Begins, Growers Remain Optimistic for Good Yields and Quality The 2018 harvest kicked off for Mumm Napa with an early morning pick of Pinot Noir for sparkling wine on Aug. 15.