'Compressed' harvest expected for grapes

One of the earliest grape harvests on record in Sonoma County also is shaping up to be one of the shortest.

Scorching temperatures and fogless mornings are rapidly ripening the light crop, challenging crews to get the grapes off the vine and into local wineries.

Last week's heat spike over 100 degrees kicked harvest into high gear, and sustained highs above 90 degrees have kept things going full throttle ever since.

"It does look like it's going to be a short, quick harvest the way it's heading today," said Glenn Proctor, a broker with Joseph Ciatti Co. in San Rafael.

Overall, the harvest is just beginning, with less than 10 percent of the county's grape crop through winery doors, estimates Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Wine Grape Commission. But the pace of harvest has accelerated this week, and Frey expects a "compressed" harvest.

Vineyard workers are starting to pick grapes at 3 a.m. Wineries are running 24/7. Extra workers are being hired to handle the deluge. And winemakers are stressing over how to pick fruit at the peak of perfection when it's all ripening at the same time.

"With whites and reds all coming in together, it's going to be a challenge getting everything in through the front door," Proctor said.

By the time Sonoma-Cutrer cellar master Agustin Ponce arrived at the Windsor winery at 6 a.m. Wednesday, six truckloads of chardonnay grapes had already been delivered from Sebastopol vineyards and another was just arriving.

"Trucks are flying in right now," Ponce said. "I told my guys we'll be finished in three, four weeks instead of five or six."

Sonoma-Cutrer is further along than many other wineries because the majority of its wine is chardonnay from grapes grown in the normally cooler Russian River area. But last week the region felt more like Fresno than Forestville, with the mercury hitting 108 on Thursday, 106 on Friday and 100 on Saturday.

While wineries in the Alexander Valley are used to such temperatures, those in the west county were sweating it out.

"In the winery everybody suffered a little bit," said Paul Ahvenainen, senior winemaker at Korbel Champagne Cellars outside Guerneville. "But it's the guys out there in the vineyards that have it the toughest."

Korbel, which is nearing the end of its sparking wine grape harvest, compensated for the heat by picking earlier in the morning and sending crews home as early as possible, Ahvenainen said.

Up the road in the Dry Creek Valley, Gallo Family Vineyards also sent vineyard workers home early two days last week when temperatures passed 100 degrees, said vineyard manager Jim Collins.

The winery provides water and shade stations for workers to make working conditions as safe as possible, Collins said. Cal/OSHA has stepped up enforcement of such requirements following three heat-related deaths of farmworkers in the Central Valley earlier this year.

One of the reasons traditionally cooler areas of the county are experiencing such extremes is the fog that typically blankets the grapes in a cool evening embrace has been noticeably absent.

"The fog is missing. That's a real critical factor," said Rhonda Smith, a viticulture adviser with the UC Cooperative Extension in Sonoma County. "It's 90 during the day, and in the morning it's starting out hotter than it normally does."

Offshore breezes blowing down from Nevada are bringing dry, hot air to the region, keeping the fog at bay and creating a headache for winemakers. With no fog to burn off, the sun's rays are hitting the vineyard at dawn and not letting up. Highs are expected to remain above 90 degrees through Friday.

It's not just the heat, but the low humidity that is a concern, causing the grapes to dehydrate and further increasing sugar levels, said Terry Adams, Sonoma-Cutrer winemaker for 28 years.

"It has cranked things up a little more quickly than an average year," Adams said. "We're getting into our stride."

The smaller crop has exacerbated the rapid ripening.

Adams estimates the crop is about 13 percent below average. Others like Proctor and Frey have estimated the crop will approach 180,000 tons, or about 10 percent down.

The dry spring, brutal frosts and hot windy weather early in the growing season are all being blamed for the lighter crop.

"It's been a wild year," Adams said.

Though a challenge, the winery is ready for the onslaught and the quality of the fruit has not suffered, Adams said.

Sonoma-Cutrer is well prepared for harvesting in the heat. The winery is now running 24 hours a day, and has 90 extra vineyard workers on hand, about 10 more than usual.

Workers start picking at 3 a.m., delivering the first loads of grapes to the winery before sunrise. At the winery the grapes are shaded under tents and awnings before being loaded into a unique "cooling tunnel" that chills them as wait to be hand-sorted.

The winery also has shaded loading areas, and even a grove of redwood trees surrounding the crush pad that blocks the sun's damaging rays.

Sonoma-Cutrer, which focuses on chardonnay, is about 20 percent through harvest and likely to finish in about three weeks. While other wineries are further behind, the 2008 crush is shaping up to be a fast one.

Some growers have expressed concern that the high temperatures might throw off the delicate balance between acids, sugars and flavors. Ideal temperatures for photosynthesis are the mid-80s, and anything above about 95 degrees causes the vines to shut down to protect themselves, Frey explained.

"I think there is some concern about maintaining acid levels," Frey said.

But the heat doesn't seem to have done any damage to what's looking like a beautiful, if small, crop, Smith said.

"The grapes look great," she said. "For all the heat we've had, the vines themselves do not look tired."

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.