From the Fields

Nicholas Miller
Santa Barbara County

We had a wild year in the Central Coast with some extremely late frost events and some record-breaking heat days. The vines took it all in stride, but ultimately ended up producing a fairly light crop. As we started harvesting French Camp Vineyards in Paso Robles in late August, its looking to pick out even lighter than we estimated. I think the same will hold true for our vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley as our estimates are already set at lower than average yields.

The whole wine industry seems to have taken a 180-degree turn. When we had the largest harvest on record in 2005, it created a huge excess in supply on the bulk wine market. It seemed like certain varietals couldn't even be given away. Now a few years later with two short harvests we're looking at an industry short in supply. Wineries are scrambling to fill their needs as yields across the state seem to be coming in light.