Vintage 2026 is Over October 10, 2026 09:00

Vintage 2026 is one for the record books.  

It is over. A month early. This was my earliest harvest ever.  It began in August and ended in mid September. Now, this is not normal because usually my last pick is October 31. Today as I look out the window there are no grapes on the vines. In past years I would still have dark purple grapes to look at and taste. 

My yield was down 50%. 

Why?  Climate. Weather. Timing. A warm winter instructed vines to come out of dormancy before normal so the growing cycle started early. Start early, end early.

Early flowering made germination more susceptible to rain. Late rainfall washed pollen off the blossoms. The tiny berries in this Viognier cluster did not get pollinated. The full ripe berries tasted great but there were not a lot of them.

Vintage 2026 was an abnormal year. Very early harvest and low yield.

In spite of all this the wines from this vintage are tasting very good. The flavors and balance are exceptional. I plan on releasing some real nice blends from 2026.