Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/100792
HarvestReport2012 Following fruit set, weather in the North Coast varied. Areas near the coast were foggy many mornings during the summer. The crop was delayed by this coolness and by the fact that the yields turned out to be a bit larger than expected, especially for pinot noir. Meanwhile, in the interior north coastal valleys, weather was optimal, with temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s, with few really hot spells that would burn fruit. Fruit ripened a little later and slower than normal, with moderate sugar development. The resulting wines are well-balanced with ripe tannins and almost optimal pH and acidity. The sparkling wine harvest started about 10 days later than usual, but wineries were quite pleased as the fruit came in. Unlike in the previous season, there was little mold or other problems with fruit quality. If anything, the acidity was a touch higher than normal, but well within the boundaries of quality fruit for making excellent sparkling wine. Harvest came on slowly at first for still wines. Wineries had the luxury of taking their time picking chardonnay and sauvignon blanc, as the reds were ripening a bit slower than normal. There was plenty of room in the winery in the beginning of the season. Interestingly, many lots came in with lower sugar and slightly higher pH compared to other seasons, and required little adjustment by winemakers. In general, this will be a good white-wine vintage for most wineries. The red-wine grape harvest was also very good. Pinot noir started later than normal due to a largerthan-expected crop and cooler temperatures in the coastal areas. The zinfandel crop was also a bit bigger than normal. Petite sirah and merlot were mostly picked before the rains arrived in the third week of October. Unlike 2011, most of the fruit had been picked and crushed by that time. Later-ripening varieties including syrah and cabernet sauvignon were picked and brought to the winery in relatively good condition, despite having been rained on a bit in October. Rainfall was less than 2 inchw w w. v w m media.com es in most vineyards during that period, so there was little damage to the fruit. Fruit had good tannin maturity and sugar/pH/acidity balance. This should be a good vintage for Bordeaux varieties. Napa Valley winegrowers are very enthusiastic about the 2012 fruit, and winemakers are saying that the quality of the 2012 wines will be several notches higher than in 2011. The crop was a bit larger than normal, creating some issues toward the end of the season as REGISTER NOW 2013 CONFEREN CE & TR AD E SHOW Midwest Grape & Wine Conference and Trade Show February 7-9, 2013 St. Charles, Missouri midwestgrape.com J a n - F e b 2 0 13 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 49