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18 W i n e s & V i n e s n O V e M B e R 2 0 1 4 N O V E M B E R N E W S N O V E M B E R N E W S S an Rafael, Calif.—As harvest wraps up in California and other grapegrowing regions along the West Coast of North America, early reports describe the 2014 vin- tage as early but with good quality and aver- age to record yields. It likely won't be another record year in California, but Oregon and Washington both appear poised to set new records for wine grape production. The harvest also came ear- lier than normal throughout the West, with some growers reporting that harvest ended before picking would normally start. California's drought brought some chal- lenges of course, but in general growers were happy to bring in a high-quality crop, with some reduced tonnages because of smaller fruit set and berry sizes. From Mendocino County down to Madera County, the general consensus was that the grapes came in early, were of good quality, and tonnage is slightly less than previous years. The 2013 harvest totaled 4.23 million tons, besting the previous record of 3.89 million tons set in 2012. Napa County growers reported the early harvest produced yields that were lower than the previous two years but of comparable quality. The magnitude-6.0 earthquake that occurred Aug. 24 caused few problems in the vineyard, and despite the early harvest the quake still struck at a point when many win- eries hadn't started receiving grapes. A short but intense storm Aug. 26 brought rain and several inches of hail in the city of Napa, but growers reported the hail didn't reach the majority of the county's vineyards (see page 21). Steve Moulds, president of Napa Valley Grapegrowers and owner of Moulds Family Vineyards, was wrapping up harvest in the Oak Knoll District on Oct. 1. "Typically, we begin in mid-October," he said. "This year, we started picking on Sept. 18." Likely because the drought had reduced their normal food supply, deer, bears, coyotes and birds feasted on ripe clusters of grapes throughout California. In Madera County, Westbrook Wine Farm reported ongoing at- tacks from "voracious vertebrate pests— birds, deer, coyotes, fox and squirrels—seeking moisture in the absence of available water." Dramatic moments came when winery staff watched deer vault an 8-foot fence for the first time in 17 years and coyotes standing on their hind legs eating fruit. "Deer got all of the Barbera, ate all the leaves with nothing left to ripen the grapes," said Charlie Green, owner and winemaker at Green Family Winery in Auburn, Calif. Annette Hoff Danzer, winemaker at 3,500-case Cima Collina in Carmel Valley, Calif., said the harvest was not just early, everything ripened at once. "I have been in wine production for 20 years and have never experienced such an early crop and one where most varieties were ready virtu- ally at the same time," she said. "We brought in 70% of our production this past week (early September), which is unprecedented and a little crazy." Don duPont, owner and winemaker at Rock Hill Winery, also reported harvest came TOP STORY Challenges Don't Stop Strong West Coast Harvest