It has been one of coolest summers on record. That can be a good
thing if you enjoy moderate weather. But the shift
– which included the third-coolest July on record – has left
grape growers in this popular wine region uncertain about the
year’s crop.
It has been one of coolest summers on record. That can be a good thing if you enjoy moderate weather. But the shift – which included the third-coolest July on record – has left grape growers in this popular wine region uncertain about the year’s crop.
Despite the triple-digit temperatures last week – a relative break compared with many prior years when such stretches have lasted longer in the late summer – it looks as though the general cooling trend could continue as fall is around the corner.
A National Weather Service forecaster, Diana Henderson, confirmed that last month’s average high temperature of 77 made it the third-coolest July on record, with the local station built in 1938.
So far this month through 29 days, it had been the fifth-coolest August on record, Henderson said. The average has been 78.4 degrees, with the coolest August on record at an average of 76.3 degrees in 1989.
For wine producers such as Pietra Santa outside Hollister, though, the next few weeks will play a big role in determining the consistency of this year’s grapes.
Allesio Carli, the head winemaker at Pietra Santa, noted how the vineyard harvest is slated for about three weeks later than 2009. In general, it is a “plentiful” harvest, he said. The challenge is getting the appropriate sugar content before the grapes are picked.
“We have to get them ripe,” he said. “Hopefully, September is going to be warm. We’re going to have a nice Indian summer. If they get ripe, they’ll be just the right quality.”
If not, he said, it would be a “mixed bag” – with some varieties such as Pinot noir and Chardonnay being relatively higher quality because they ripen earlier, while others such as Cabernet and Merlot grapes being “more challenged.”
“If it doesn’t rain, we still have a very good chance to have a very good harvest,” he said.
Henderson, the meteorologist, said there are no triple-digit temperatures in sight in the immediate forecast. Last week’s hotter temperatures were caused by a high-pressure system over the area. Through most of July and August, though, it had been the opposite. This area was covered with a low-pressure system, while areas out east dealt with the higher-pressure conditions, she said.
