Diversifying in the Vineyard

When a wine drinker thinks of Sonoma County, they likely focus on Pinot Noir. The top grapes by acreage are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon, making up two-thirds of all the grapes grown in the county. There are smaller amounts of Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, and Syrah. The last ten percent is made up by over 50 other grape varieties. There's a move to diversify for several reasons.

Selling Wine

You don't see much Riesling
in Sonoma County anymore

A winery owner or winemaker might be asking themselves, "Does the world need another Chardonnay, and is there even a store shelf anywhere that wants another one?"  Even if yours is great, how will it stand out in a crowded field? Maybe go with another white wine grape and try to gain fame there. Assuming you can find another suitable variety besides Chard or Sauv Blanc.

Why is there so much Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Pinot planted instead of for instance more Pinot Gris or Merlot? As with most things, it's economics. At harvest, a ton of Pinot Noir grapes goes for an average of $3,800, the highest for any grape in Sonoma County. A ton of Merlot grapes sell for $2,100.

A few local wineries that specialize in non-traditional wines are Acorn, Idlewild, Orsi, Portalupi, and Two Shepherds. You'll find lesser-known French and Italian grapes. Per Acorn's website, they are currently sold out of their current release. The founders had been talking about retiring, so I don't know the status of future wines.

Climate Change

Most local winemakers will tell you there's more variability in the weather now. You can attribute it or not to climate change, but the heat and the full-on or full-off nature of the rain patterns are new. The extended years of drought are new. Or at least they're new since wine grapes became a major crop. Some grapes will do better with these changes than others.

There are people planting small experimental vineyards of different varieties. Some are planting different clones of the popular varieties with different rootstocks to see what works best as current vineyards heat up and have less water available.

Vineyard Health

Trousseau Gris is not
well-known. Also called
Bastardo, a name they
did not choose to use. :)

Vineyards are monocropping. You look at the Napa Valley floor and all you see are acres and acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. As an example of what can happen is with phylloxera, the pest that wiped out most vineyards in the late 19th century then made another pass through a few decades ago after almost everyone replanted to one particular rootstock. Diversification is key to health.

Not every grape variety reacts the same way to vineyard temperature extremes, or to pests and mildew. Go with what's easy to grow in a certain location instead of having to fight problems with spraying, with extra work in the vineyard, or with water you may not have.

There is some experimentation with grapes that are a cross between the European varieties that we are used to and native American grapes that are naturally more disease resistant. We'll see if that leads to any wines we think consumers will appreciate.