(Credit Bertram Whitman)

Winemakers are lying awake at night.   They may make a glamorous product enjoyed by millions both every day and for special occasions, but at heart they’re just farmers, dependent on the unpredictable weather for a good result.  As the harvest draws near, the weather can be calm and cooperative or it can wreak havoc. 

The quality of the wine depends on the quality of the grapes, and the quality of the grapes depends on the weather. Location, climate, and soil are important factors; but rainfall, sunshine, and temperature are the big year-to-year variables. In the crucial weeks before picking, the weather becomes an even bigger issue.

As the harvest approaches, fingers are crossed that nothing will disrupt the generally good conditions of this year. A cold snap, too much rain, high winds — any of these can change the game.

Pick sooner?  Wait for riper fruit?   The weather may deal a wild card.   That’s what keeps winemakers awake at night. They only get one shot.

I checked in with a few winemakers to see how it’s going.

Hillside vines at Jones Farm

Joe Patrick, winemaker and vineyard manager at Jones Family Farms Winery in Shelton brought me up to speed.  

A stretch of sunny days during this spring’s flowering positioned the Jones vines for the “best yields ever.”  Rain in July was interspersed with enough sunny, drying days to keep the vines healthy. Even the three-or-so inches of rain from tropical storm Henri dried up in the next few days. Patrick is watching out now for mildew, fungus, or disease that can result from too much moisture.  So far so good.

Jones Farm tasting room.

The picking of their twenty estate grape varieties will start this week with Marquette (for red wine) and then Muscat Ottonel (a white variety).  A poorly-timed rainfall (hurricane remnants for instance) could ruin everything. The picturesque winery patio and bar are open for tasting on the weekends.  Reservations suggested. 

When you ask a winemaker about his grapes, you usually get a weather report. Mike McAndrew, winemaker at Stonington Vineyards on the Connecticut coast, shared, “We started the year with an unusually dry Spring, which had us worried early-on about crop size. But the rain we received in late June and early July, after the fruit set, brought everything back into balance.”  

“We were fortunate with Henri.  Rain and wind from the north went down the rows [not across] causing no damage. All in, it looks like a good year,” he said.  The estate Chardonnay (I’ve always been a fan) and Cabernet Franc will be picked in mid to late October. Tastings are available year round. 

Balletto Sauvignon Blanc is being picked now.

On the west coast at Balletto Vineyards in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, they’ve already begun to pick.  Winemaker Anthony Beckman reported that, “The weather these last five weeks has been picture perfect: cool fog in the morning, 80˚s in the hot part of the day, and then back to very cool nights around 55˚.”  That diurnal shift in temperature is key to making top-notch Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. 

In California’s iconic Napa Valley, the big variable this year is water.  With the ongoing drought across the West, some vineyards have cut back on irrigation. More established vines can reach water deep in the soil; others have to do with less.   

(Credit Bertram Whitman)

Winemaker Elias Fernandez reports from the hillsides of Shafer Vineyards in Stags Leap that the harvest, still a few weeks off, will be smaller than average.  

Winemakers across the valley are optimistically looking for a high-quality crop of modest size. Picking is already under way for white varieties, principally Sauvignon Blanc.  The reports are good.

Last year across many of California’s wine regions, some of the crop was lost to smoke taint.  Although massive fires rage again this year, so far the vines don’t seem to be suffering from exposure. 

Paul Clifton, Director of Winemaking at Hahn Family Wines reports that after a wet winter, the growing season was “pretty normal.”  He anticipates a harvest much like the successful 2020 for his flagship Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands, Arroyo Seco, and  Monterey County vineyards. 

In Oregon, extreme heat this summer challenged winemakers.  Unprecedented temperatures up to 120 degrees came a year after heavy smoke blanketed some vineyards. 

(Credit Bertram Whitman)

Even in the south of France, home of the ever-popular Provence rosé, wildfires are threatening the vineyards.

Winemakers have always faced challenges from the weather, which is why wine varies from year to year. Now, with climate change added to the equation, it’s no wonder they’re not getting much sleep. 

Frank Whitman can be reached at NotBreadAloneFW@gmail.com.