So imagine you told your kids that they were starting the school year 2 weeks earlier than previously scheduled. Or imagine if the IRS let you know in late March that tax day was being moved up to April 1st instead of April 15th. Can you imagine the reactions you might be getting?
Well, now you can imagine (without much difficulty) what us farmers are saying right now. For us, we will start the harvest of 2026 this coming Friday with a Marsanne pick (for another winery). Now, for a variety (Marsanne) that we used to pick often in late October or early November (in the 1990's), this is a bit of a swing.
But even more interesting (if I use that word instead of "scary"), the start of our high-elevation vineyard's harvest will be a full 2 weeks earlier than we have ever harvested in the past 50+ years. But, without getting too much into the weeds, what is making this happen this year? Well, it comes down to a few things...a couple of viticultural aspects and a bit of enological choices. Let's start with the viticultural stuff.
If you remember this last winter, it was relatively warm, giving the Sierras a smaller snowpack (and a tough ski season--ski resorts are kind of like farmers, relying on the good graces of Mother Nature too!). This prompted an early budbreak in almost everything, and it started the clock moving on the lifecycle of the vines and the vintage. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Then, the spring was relatively cool with some pretty inclement weather...rain, hail, cold, etc. Not only did this cause some problems with phomopsis, but the hail (if your vineyard was in its path) damaged some leaves, clusters and canes. Add to this that weather conditions were not ideal during the flowering of the grapevines, and the result is (from a fruit point of view) a much lighter and dispersed crop. (I can walk down a row and find a vine with a reasonable amount of fruit and the next vine doesn't even have a single cluster of grapes.)
We had hoped that our relatively cool summer (until last week) would slow the maturation rate down for the vines, hopefully still getting us into September. The smaller crop load, though, means that the vines are putting their energy into fewer clusters, potentially (from my ignorant stance) ripening them faster. And although the brix levels (sugar levels) in the grapes are relatively low, the pH levels are relatively high for the time of year.
On a side note, our mountain-grown vineyards in the El Dorado appellation produce fruit that many wineries across the state search out because of our good natural acidity and balance in the juice. So watching the pH levels and when they start to rise can give an indication of full maturity in the grapes. (We at Madroña are one of those wineries that watches pH levels as a representation of acidity and maturity rather than just looking at sugar levels for ripeness.)
So right now, I have Chardonnay from our 53-year-old vines with a pH level of 3.12 (and a brix of 19.5) , in a perfectly beautiful maturity zone....ahhhhhhhh in the middle of August! And for the white Rhone varieties, which inherently have higher pH levels to begin with, wineries are looking to pick at even sub 19 brix (where in olden times you might look for 22 or 23 brix).
The challenges for us are multiple. Some has to do with logistics. I had planned to do some bottling during these next two weeks to open up barrels for the 2026 harvest. It will still happen, but I hate bottling while I have fermenting wines in the winery. Secondly, organizing our crew for harvest takes some effort, (and picking in the potential heat of August means balancing out what is truly possible for our staff in the vineyards as well as for the quality of the grapes, in terms of heat). Thirdly, switching a winery from "winery-mode" to "harvest-mode" with all the equipment changes (and mental changes) is like going from surfing to skiing in the same day (which is possible in California).
But mostly, it will be a challenge as winemakers choose what indicators to watch in their grape samples, and how much intensity of fruit we expect to have. That will ultimately determine the style of wine for the future too. (And boy, that sounds stressful, at least from winemaker's point of view!). As to the quality of the vintage, that is yet to be seen (or tasted). I have my hopes and I have my concerns, but I will say it will be a vintage to remember.
And let's hope all together that this growing season is not a harbinger of vintages to come, even if the wines turn out spectacularly. This type of weather here just ain't normal!