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November 2015 WINES&VINES 15 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS N apa, Calif.—The 2015 California grape har- vest is short, but it's not clear how short. Estimates range from 50% or more off normal in parts of Paso Robles to just a little lower than average in some areas. After three bumper crops, the lower numbers may even be wel- come in some places. Nat DiBuduo, president and CEO of Allied Grape Growers, gen- erally has a good handle on crop size, as his organization represents many growers in both the Central Valley and coastal counties. DiBuduo is currently estimat- ing the California wine grape har- vest at "somewhat below 3.8 million tons —lower than the new normal of 4 million tons." (Last year's crop hit 3.9 million tons, and 2013 was 4.24 million tons.) The California Association of Wine Grapegrowers reports that DiBuduo said white grapes har- vested in the San Joaquin Valley had average to below-average yields, but some varieties (such as Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gri- gio) are in higher demand. In spite of shorter crops, some growers are already pulling out vines and likely to plant nut trees, DiBuduo said. "Vines planted two or three years (ago) are coming into production, and there's still plenty of wine in tanks to meet the demand for less expensive wines." Bill Berryhill with Berryhill Family Vineyards farms wine grapes in the northern San Joa- quin Valley in Stanislaus County, Calif., and near Clements, east of Lodi, Calif., in San Joaquin County. He expects yields to range from normal to down 10%. Stuart Spencer is program manager for the Lodi Winegrape Commission and owner and wine- maker at St. Amant Winery. He said, "In Lodi it looks like it's going to be a light average year in 2015. Depending on the field—and there was variability across Lodi— most growers came in a bit below an average size crop. "Some of the younger fields performed fairly well, and some of the older fields not so well. From what we've been hearing, the crop in Lodi didn't come in as light as it did in the coastal and foothill regions. That said, in 2014 Lodi had a fairly average size crop compared to other regions, com- ing off the very large harvests of 2012 and 2013. Quality across the board in 2015 looked to be excep- tional with high acids and good flavors and very few problems with the fruit." Also in Lodi, Aaron Lange of LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards said crop size is ranging from average to below average. Glenn Proctor, president of Ciatti and Co. brokers, added, "The Lodi/Delta areas of the state will play different than the lower Cen- tral Valley, so we need to be careful not to group them all together." Of course, the impact of the shortage depends on yields of the grapes wineries need. "An excess of southern San Joaquin Ruby Cabernet doesn't make up for a shortage of Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir," noted Steve Fredricks, pres- ident of Turrentine Brokerage. One region that seems espe- cially hard hit was Paso Robles, a prime source for wines in the hot low-teen retail price point, espe- cially Cabernet Sauvignon. Some vineyards were a total loss, and most yields in the region were off by 50% or more. Growers who suffered a 30% loss are con- sidering themselves lucky in a year that at first seemed merely earlier than normal but proved instead to be dramatically light. Dr. Lowell Zelinski, founder of Precision Ag Consulting, attri- butes the low yields to unseason- ably cool temperatures in May that prevented the pollen tubes in vine flowers from fully forming, thereby interfering with fertiliza- tion. The cold temperatures also caused widespread retention of flower caps that also prevented pollination. Years of drought, which have exacerbated salt accumulation in the root zone, as well as hail in mid-June and a freak storm in July that dropped 3-4 inches of rain all played a role in the reduced yields. Monterey County, Calif., is consistent with other regions in having smaller yields this year, said Amanda West Reade, spokes- person for the Monterey County Vintners & Growers Association. After several years of bumper crops, the 2015 wine grape har- vest in Monterey County may be anywhere from 20% to 40% smaller than recent large vintages. Unusual weather patterns and on- going effects of the drought are mostly to blame. In Napa Valley, growers expect lower yields than in the past three years, but as elsewhere, all reports from the vineyard indicate that fruit quality is said to be good. An early bud break and erratic weather during bloom created some variability in fruit maturity, and as a result, crop yields are lower than in past years. "Yields are down from the past three years, but those years were big crops. We're only off 15% to 20% TOP STORY West Coast Harvest Numbers a Mystery While the California wine grape harvest may be down 5%-15% from normal, some North Coast yields are down 25%, and Paso Robles reports a nearly 50% loss. RANDY JOHNSON, NAPA VALLEY VINTNERS