From San Diego to San Francisco, California’s coastal wine regions are in the midst of one of the coldest growing seasons on record.
Over the weekend I spent a couple of days in Paso Robles while judging at the annual Winemakers’ Cookoff. The daily high temps while I was there barely broke 70.
"Typically Paso in August has daytime highs in the 90s and nightime lows in the 50s," said longtime Paso winemaker Gary Eberle. "We’re getting the nightime 50s, but nowhere near the daytime 90s. We’re two to three weeks behind a normal harvest schedule.
"I’m thinking about grafting everything over to Pinot!"
Of course, Paso Robles is Cabernet Sauvignon country and Cabernet needs heat to ripen. I found more of the same angst as I arrived in Napa, where daytime temps in August often top 100 degrees. That’s a distant memory for panicked vintners, many who don’t even have any color in their Cabs at this stage and are looking at a harvest sometime in November, when Pacific storms could become a factor.
"We need a nice, warm Indian summer," opined winemaker Cathy Corison of St. Helena’s Corison Vineyards.
The danger for Napa is that king Cabernet won’t ripen. That would open the door for Napa Merlot, which typically ripens two to three weeks earlier than Cab.
"I’d say Merlot outperforms Cabernet one in ten years," said Corison. "This could be the year."
It may well be too early to make predictions along those lines, but I know one thing. On my way out to dinner tonight, I’m ditching the silk Tommy Bahama short-sleeve Hawaiian shirt and putting on a sweater.
It may not be winter, but it sure feels like winter!
By the way, Napa Merlots are generally a good buy. They are typically about half the price of Cabernet Sauvignon and a number of Napa producers make seriously good Merlot. A few of my favorites: Twomey, Nickel & Nickel, Chappellet, Truchard and Clos du Val.
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