You probably heard about the wildfire in Napa Valley during the 2020 grape harvest. Maybe you even thought, "OMG the wines are all ruined!" Well, no. There were localized loses to California grapes, but there is plenty of wine being made and it sounds like it's been a pretty good to an outstanding year.
Following are some regional reports for the main premium wine grape areas. The info is from the 2020 Harvest Report from the Wine Institute.
In general, the state had a dry previous winter, a mild growing season until heat arrived in August in the northern half of the state.
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| Harvesting in Napa (image from KQED) |
Central Coast (Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara Counties)
Generally warmer than normal. To the north (Monterey) there was significant wildfire smoke damage. To the south (Santa Barbara) the crop is large with lower acids. Paso Robles in the middle may be the sweet spot for quality.
North Bay (Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma Counties)
Good weather, great fruit especially the whites, lower yields on reds. Roughly a quarter of the grapes lost due to smoke damage in Napa and Sonoma. The fruit that made it through looks excellent. The first wines you'll see from 2020 will be whites, of course, and it looks like they will be great.
Sierra Foothills (Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado Counties)
Moderate temperatures with no long cold spells or heat spikes. Good color and intensity in the fruit. Some called it the best harvest they've seen.
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