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Wine grape cultivation began during early August in the Livermore Valley, marking for Wente Family Vineyards the earliest kickoff seen in at least the last 50 years, according to director of vineyard operations Niki Wente.
An early harvest this year also occurred about two miles north at Las Positas Vineyards, according to its winemaker and general manager Brent Amos.
These leaders in the wine industry agree weather conditions prompted the early development of wine grapes, albeit with different takes on the specific triggers.
“The quality of the grapes doesn’t change with the time of harvest,” Amos said. “The grapes don’t care when they’re picked. You pick them when they’re ready, when they’re ripe, when the flavors are developed.”
At Wente’s vineyards in Livermore, the months-long process of grape-picking began Aug. 6, a full month ahead of schedule, Niki Wente said.
She attributed the accelerated timeline to an unusually warm end of February and month of March.
“March heated up the root system so quickly that it pushed everything a little bit closer,” Niki Wente explained. “It’s the best guess I can give at this point.”
The periods between development phases were shorter than usual, with the most significant contraction occurring between bud break and bloom, she added.
As an atypically early harvest, the grapes go on to make bright and vibrant wines as opposed to jammy characteristics associated with later harvests, Niki Wente said.
“I would expect this to be more of a lively, bright, fun, beautiful acidity type of vintage,” she explained.
At Las Positas Vineyards, the harvest came just a couple of weeks earlier than usual due to mild weather and warmer than usual nighttime conditions, according to Amos.
“The weather’s been perfect. We haven’t really had many heat spikes and it’s been very, very mild all season,” he said. “The vines have been working a little longer in the evenings and have started up again earlier in the mornings.”
On schedule, however, was the annual Blessing of the Grapes event.
Hosted last week by Livermore Valley Wine Community, the ceremony was intended to bring success to this year’s vintage.
The event, held at Mitchell Katz Winery in Livermore on Aug. 25, included Rabbi Laurence Elis Milder, Ph.D. of Congregation Beth Emek, Father Joseph Pathiyil of St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church and Pastor Steve Wilde of First Presbyterian Church of Livermore.
