At least two Gilroy wine enthusiasts picked a rough year to turn their hobbies into livelihoods, though none of the vintners in Santa Clara Valley could have predicted the unusual weather events that resulted in earlier harvests and lower-than-average yields for the 2008 vintage.
Tom Moller, who will celebrate the opening of his Satori Cellars winery Saturday, said a late frost in April, high winds in the spring, and two heat waves this summer will likely cause his total harvest to drop by 20 percent from last year.
"The heat brought the sugars up faster than we normally prefer," said Moller, who has already harvested his merlot grapes, which have been hit the hardest of all the varietals he grows.
Specifically, he said the fruit sets, or grape clusters, on his plants are thinner than any previous year he has tended a crop. Plus, the grapes are varying sizes, while uniformly sized fruit is ideal.
Moller has been growing grapes and producing wine as a hobby since 2001, and became licensed as business in 2006. He hopes to bottle 1,500 cases with this year's harvest, and turn out up to 4,000 cases annually within four years.
Hoping that temperatures have cooled off for good, Moller said he is now taking a chance by waiting to pick the rest of his grapes until closer to harvest time, but still about a week earlier than he wanted to. The grape harvest in Santa Clara County typically occurs from early September to mid-October, depending on the varietal, Moller noted.
He said he has heard that in other parts of the valley, the abnormal heat caused the merlots and other varietals to ripen quickly, forcing an earlier harvest.
Such is the case at another newly licensed vineyard on the other side of Gilroy. Jason Stephens Vineyard is nestled in a flat spot among the rolling hills along Watsonville Road, below the charred summit of the site of one of this summer's many wild fires.
The field's grape vines are hearty and strong after 18 years of growth, but the winery is just preparing to open for public tastings later this year. On a recent visit, one of the dozen or so three-story tall fermentation tanks inside the metal wine-making warehouse contained not crushed grapes, but a man welding metal plates into place.
Vintner and co-owner Jason Goelz said his crop has succumbed to the same unusual weather that Moller's has.
Goelz explained that the first summer heat wave in May had the biggest adverse impact. He said the succession of extremely hot days hit just when his Syrah and merlot grapes were flowering, which happens to be when the plants are most sensitive to sudden environmental changes. The fire occurring next to the vineyard at the same time might have had an impact, too.
"When the plants flower, you have an 11-day window where you don't want anything unusual to happen to them," said Goelz, who has been making wine for eight years. As a result, he just finished picking his entire crop of the two varietals, two weeks sooner than he has in the past.
"Some of our yields are down by 60 percent," said Goelz.
He echoed Moller's concern about the high sugar content caused by higher temperatures, which can contribute to more alcohol in the wine and a potentially over-bearing flavor.
In terms of quality, Goelz expects 2008 to be a banner year when the wine is bottled in a couple of years, not only for his vineyard, but valleywide.
"If it wasn't for the heat and the frost, and the low yields, this would have been a superb year," said Goelz, adding, "It's all about quality, anyway."
Viv Vanni, owner of Solis Winery on Hecker Pass Highway, said the late season heat accelerated his grapes, though some of his red varietals will be picked in the next week or two. The Cabernet Sauvignon is usually last and - barring any more heat waves - could last until October.
"You just try to water a little when you see heat like that so (the grapes) don't mature to fast," he said.
The Santa Clara Valley is one of the oldest wine-producing regions in California, and the Fortino family is a mainstay of the region's history.
Gino Fortino of Fortino Winery on Hecker Pass Highway is a fourth-generation vintner. The gnarled carignon vines next to the driveway into the Fortino tasting room are nearly 80 years old.
While the yield may be down due to this year's strange weather, Fortino agrees the quality shouldn't suffer.
And he is not complaining about the heat, because even on the hottest days the weather has cooled off enough at night to balance out the fruit's sugars, alkalinity, and acidity.
"This weather is perfect for grape growing," said Fortino, who was eager to return to crushing recently-picked fruit during an interview at his winery last week.
He noted that the only adverse weather-related effect on his crop this year has been the low yield of chardonnay grapes. The late frost in April, he said, killed the first spring buds which had just sprouted, allowing the plants to produce only about half as much fruit as usual.
Otherwise, he said his harvests have been "textbook," occurring at the same time as usual.
He explained that the valley is full of microclimates. The weather on his property might be noticeably different than at vineyards only a couple of miles away, such as Jason Stephens, which is at a slightly higher elevation.
Gino's uncle, Mario Fortino has not picked his grapes next door at Hecker Pass Winery, but it's not because of the weather. He said different vintners have different tastes, and when the fruit is picked determines each vineyard's unique flavor when the wine is bottled.
POST A COMMENT
If you are under 13 years of age you may read this message board, but you may not participate.
Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.
San Benito Score: Rodeo and youth baseball
