Central Coast Wineries Hit Hard by Affects of Early Harvest
By Shahana Abbasi
May 2, 2016
Vineyards and Wineries all along California’s beloved Central Coast were hit with a strikingly early harvest this last production season. The warmer weather has not only brought on a serious drought, but also attributed to drastic changes in the harvesting season of local wine producing vineyards. Although an earlier season seems like a guarantee of healthy crops, the heat has moved up the beginning of production by months.
At this years WiVi Conference consultants got together to discuss the status of California’s Central Coast AVA, which reaches all the way from Livermore Valley to South San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Vineyard consultant Lowell Zelinksi characterized the 2015 harvest as a, “troubled vintage,” that will lead to great concerns for the 2016 year.
Early bud break creates several risks that can lead to irreversible damage later on, such as an increase in the chance of frost damage to vines. Unfortunately, vineyards in San Luis Obispo experienced these damages, among several other repercussions of the heat this season.
Stephen Autry, owner of Autry Winery, said that all growers around him came up short due to frost earlier in the season. Autry said, “With the drought weather comes what we saw-earlier bud break and earlier frost-which makes the plants extremely vulnerable.”
Kynsi Winery, located close to Autry Winery reported similar activity. Kacha, the Tasting Room Manager at Kynsi Winery said bud break started as early as the beginning of January. “Harvest moved up by two months-August instead of October,” Kacha said, “It was very early and very sudden.”
Dave Chene, owner of Chene Vineyards also saw earlier bud-break in his crops. At first he said he wasn’t worried about his vines flourishing, but eventually experienced the ongoing concern of frost damage others were worried about. Chene said he too, “had shattering to the crops during the winter flowering.”
Another problem incurred by the lack of rain are the drastic changes made to California’s well-known, prime soil conditions. Autry noticed an immediate change in the land around him: “The accumulation of salt in the root zone is becoming toxic to the plants-it burns the leaves. The rainfall washes the salt back where it belongs.”
Without the rain to wash it away, plants quickly begin to whither and die. They simply cannot handle the intensity of the chemical. “This is the biggest issue we’ve had with the drought, it drastically changes the soil and it’s quality,” said Autry.
Kacha also mentioned great concern regarding soil conditions and lack of water. Kynsi Winery specializes in Pinot Noir, which is extremely sensitive to soil conditions and proper watering. Kynsi Winery reported 2013 as the biggest harvest year ever and 2014 as big, but nowhere close to the year prior. Kacha described the 2015 production as just, “tiny.”
Her concern for the company was based on what will continue to happen in the future. She said, “We produced 30% below the average. If this keeps going long-term, we will not be Pinot Noir anymore.” Chene also said his vineyard has a lighter load this year than any year before.
The 2015-growing season of Vineyards all through the Central Coast were significantly lower than past years. The affects of California’s dry weather conditions has overall changed the entire processing cycle and levels of production. “Average yield per acre is down dramatically all across the board,” Autry said, “Everything changes.”
References
Dave Chene (Owner of Chene Vineyards) 805.440.0026
Jane Firstenfeid. Wines and Vines. Central Coast Vineyards Report on 2016. http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=166782
Kacha (Tasting Room Manager at Kynsi Winery) 805.544.8461
Stephen Autry (Owner of Autry Winery). 805.546.8669
