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StateWays | www.stateways.com | September/October 2016 32 « AMERICAN MADE vintage. "I think maybe '14 is my favorite," Fletcher says. "There's lots of interesting fl avors." Sass agrees: "2014 is the one that sticks out for us." And Kris- ten Barnhisel, white winemaker for J. Lohr, liked the concentra- tion of the 2014s. At Jordan, on the other hand, 2012 was Davis' favorite, espe- cially for Cabernet Sauvignon. "I was giddy throughout the en- tire harvest," he says. "It was a dream. It really was a dream." He calls it "without a doubt" the best Cabernet vintage he's made at Jordan. (Jordan also produces Russian River Chardonnay; Davis says the 2014 Chardonnay was "phenomenal.") A CHANGING HARVEST Nearly all of the winemakers interviewed agreed that there's a trend toward earlier harvests. Sometimes that's because of warm weather; in other cases, low yields caused the fruit to ripen more quickly. Lindquist shares a winemaking facility in Santa Maria with Au Bon Climat. He says that winery would usually bring in its fi rst fruit at the end of August or early September. In 2014, Lind- quist adds, the fi rst Pinot Noir for ABC was picked Aug. 7, de- spite the fact that it was an abundant vintage. In 2015, when the crop was smaller, the same block of Pinot Noir was picked July 27. He expected to start harvest this year in early- to mid-August. Barnhisel is also seeing earlier harvests. The winery picked its St. Helena Sauvignon Blanc on Aug. 11 in 2014, Aug. 10 in 2015 and Aug. 11 this year. "Although it seems early," she says, "it is 'normal' for this vineyard these days." Most of the winery's white grapes are grown in the Arroyo Seco region of Monterey County, where the climate generally is classifi ed as Region 1, the coolest category; the past couple of years, she says, it's been closer to a warmer Region 2. "Early is the new norm," Davis adds. Or, as Sass puts it, "At this point, it's not 'early' anymore. It's the same every year." Which brings up the question of climate change. State offi cials say 2015 was the warmest year on record for California, but that macro trend isn't necessarily refl ected in every region or every vineyard. It's also unclear whether California's drought is linked to climate change. So is climate change affecting California's vine- yards and the resulting wines? It depends on whom you ask. Fletcher has studied "degree days" – a way of calculating tem- peratures during the growing season – for the Napa Valley since 1989 and says the valley is "still in the normal range of things." But just to the west, in Sonoma County, Davis says, "Without a doubt, we're experiencing global warming." That's particularly evi- dent at night, he says. Typically, California's coastal growing areas experience a strong marine infl uence. It can be hot during the day, but fog and breezes off the Pacifi c Ocean can make nighttime temperatures drop dramatically – a 40-degree change isn't uncom- mon. Davis says the nights are "defi nitely warmer, and we're not getting the marine layer. Now the fog is more of an anomaly." "We're not getting the refrigerator effect from the Pacifi c Ocean," Davis adds. Warmer nights speed the maturation of the grapes. Lindquist sees a similar pattern, with warmer nighttime tem- peratures. "We usually can't sit out on our patio at night" because it's too cold, he says. That hasn't been the case in recent years. But St. Amant's Spencer hesitates to blame climate change for any weather aberrations, saying that farmers have been dealing with year-to-year variations "since Day One." CONSUMER BUYING PATTERNS In addition to the string of good vintages, there has been another welcome development for California vintners: Sales are good for all but the least expensive wines. Continuing a years-long trend, shipments since 2011 of California wines priced above $10 have increased 38 per- cent, according to data from wine industry analysts Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates. Wines in the $10-$14 segment climbed nearly 48 percent. Meanwhile, shipments of wines Fog's Reach Vineyard, Arroyo Seco AVA. KRISTEN BARNHISEL, WHITE WINEMAKER FOR J. LOHR, LIKED THE CONCENTRATION OF THE 2014 VINTAGES. Kristen Barnhisel, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines.