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16 WINES&VINES August 2015 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS S an Rafael, Calif.—In the early spring, it appeared as if this year's harvest in California might be wrapping up by the middle of September, as another warm winter triggered early bud break, prompting vines t o p u s h m u c h e a r l i e r t h a n normal. Thanks to a cooler-than-nor- mal May and unsettled weather in June, however, the reports of an early harvest are now being re- placed with a sense of things re- turning to normal—or just a week or two early. Some areas also experienced problematic set and cluster devel- opment because of windy, wet weather that also raised the risk of Botrytis and mildew—espe- cially for later in the year. A couple of weak, low-pressure systems that came through the state around the Fourth of July brought more humidity and some thunder- showers as well. The Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) reported in mid-June that a lengthy bloom period had cre- ated a "wide variability" in devel- oping clusters. "Because of the variability in this year's fruit set, crop thinning at the time of vérai- son will be even more important to even out the maturity of the clusters," said Allison Cellini, NVG member and viticulturist at Cliff Lede Vineyards. Eric Pooler, who oversees nearly 300 acres in Sonoma and Napa counties as the director of winegrowing for Boisset Family Estates, said 2015 is shaping up to be 10% to 25% lighter than previous years, depending on ap- pellation and varietal. He said some severe shatter that reduced potential yields by more than 50% occurred in later blooming vine- yards. "Although clusters are still starting to fill in, cluster structure is open and berry size is variable," Pooler said. At Gloria Ferrer in the Sonoma County side of the Carneros AVA, the lengthy bloom period did cause some shatter in blocks of TOP STORY California Growers Expect Smaller Yields; Large Inventory of Bulk Remains Several vineyards in Napa County, Calif., suffered shatter because of cooler weather, pests and some light June rain.