Michigan, A Cold Climate Wine Success

 Not every quality wine has to be grown in a Mediterranean climate, as it turns out.

The Coming Weird Wine Grape Harvest

Mother Nature controls much of what happens in agriculture, and wine grapes are especially finicky. Harvest timelines and fruit quality vary based on weather and peoples' decisions. The 2026 spring weather was most unusual and that's going to have an impact.

Sonoma Mountain Appellation

The Sonoma Mountain range that sits to the west of Sonoma Valley separating it from the Santa Rosa and Petaluma plains. The highest point in the range is Sonoma Mountain at about 2,500 ft. 

Within the Sonoma Mountain range is the Sonoma Mountain appellation or AVA. 

Wine Regions Experiencing Growth

It's not entirely doom and gloom for the American wine biz. There are areas that are adding vineyards and have new wineries planned. Here's a few of them.

The Other Valley for Cabernet

Napa Valley is synonymous with Cabernet Sauvignon. There are folks out there who believe Napa is the only place for Cab. There's another valley, and it's not too far from Napa.

Russian River Valley Neighborhoods

Sonoma County's Russian River Valley appellation (grape growing area) is well-known, especially for Pinot Noir. It's a huge region with a total land area of 160,000 acres, or 250 square miles, with 15,000 acres of wine grapes planted.

With this big of an appellation, you often find sub-appellations to define smaller areas based mostly on microclimates and soil types. While there are a couple sub-appellations, Green Valley and Chalk Hill, some local winemakers and grape growers decided to divide it up into unofficial neighborhoods.

The 2025 Grape Harvest Wraps Up

It's just about the end of the harvest for everyone, though there's still plenty to do in the cellar. So, how do things looks this year for North Coast wine grapes?

Interesting Sonoma County Vineyards (Part 2)

The previous post was Important Vineyards in Sonoma County. This is a follow-up of other vineyards that didn't make that list, but are still interesting, and somewhat important.

Important Vineyards in Sonoma County

Not necessarily the best, oldest, biggest, or most famous vineyards, though they could be. These are important because of their influence. We are talking about the vineyards that grow wine grapes, not wineries. 

Agrivoltaics

An issue with solar panel fields is the amount of land they can take up. You've maybe seen solar panels over parking lots. What if you could put them on farmland?

Agrivoltaics is using solar panels in conjunction with farming to turn the shade from the panels into a positive. A positive, get it? I'm pretty charged by the potential here.

Where Does California Wine Come From?

To some, California wine and Napa wine are the same. That is, when they think of premium California wine, they are focused on Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This isn't the reality of California wine.

Spotted Lanternflies, Just What the West Coast Doesn't Need

The invasive plant-hopping Spotted Lanternfly, indigenous to Asia, has made its way to the eastern U.S., probably via a cargo ship from Asia in 2012 into Philadelphia. It has since migrated into 19 eastern states. It will eventually hop a train, or some other mode of transportation, to the rest of the country.

Its reproductive rate and ability to live off of many plants, makes it is unlikely that we can eradicate the Lanternfly. This is bad news.

Distinct Differences in Sonoma County AVAs

Definition: AVA = American Viticultural Area, aka an appellation. An AVA is an officially recognized grape-growing area in the U.S. Examples include Napa Valley and Willamette Valley.

When someone asks, What's the difference between Napa and Sonoma? I would say that Sonoma has a wider range of grapes grown and styles made. Napa is known for Cabernet Sauvignon, with Chardonnay a distant second. Sonoma County wine regions showcase the diverse climates and soils, resulting in an impressive variety of wines and styles. 

"California Doesn't Have Seasons"

Yeah, we do.    :)

May is Sex in the Vineyard Month!

Grapes self-pollinate. In biological terms, they are a hermaphrodite and contain both male (stamens) and female (pistils) reproductive organs. Grape vines don't need bees, wind or other grape vines to pollinate. Yes, self-pollination, that could be something Catholics would frown on. 

May is the month this happens in the Northern Hemisphere.

You mean this isn't what you're looking for when you clicked on the title?

Actually, a few varieties of grape vines do have male and female vines. The main one is Vitis rotundifolia, or muscadine, that grows in the southern U.S.

Commercial vineyards may still need bees for pollinating their cover crops. 

Self-pollination does allow reliable and timely pollination, and it helps maintain the best traits. It does not promote diversity or help in adapting to a changing climate.

Hey, it's not polite to peek while they pollinate

 

The Los Angeles Connection to California Wine History

  How could Los Angeles have any influence on the wine industry? Well, it turns out that the start of California's commercial wine business was in LA.

  The California missions run from San Diego's Mission, founded in 1769, to Sonoma's Mission in 1823. BTW, there were also missions throughout Baja California. The missions were known for planting wine grapes and making mission wine for church services and to serve at their own dinners.

  You might consider the San Diego Mission as the oldest winery in the country. However, they haven't made wine there in a very long time, it was never really a commercial winery, and California wasn't part of the US at the time.

The Great Grape Migration

As temperatures warm, vineyards will have to move. Premium grapes are very susceptible to temperature changes, as each variety operates in a small window of temperatures.

Stats: Napa Wine vs. The Rest of California

For the statistics nerd in all (most?) of us. A perspective on Napa, and Sonoma, in comparison to the wine industry in the rest of the state. This is good info for the people that see California wine only as Napa Valley.

Quintessential Sonoma County Vineyards

Consumers who buy a lot of premium wine may have favorite vineyards. Example, "I just love any Pinot Noir from the Van der Kamp Vineyard."  

This post was inspired by Sonoma Magazine's a list of  "The Most Iconic Vineyards in Sonoma County." It's a nice try, but my list is better. :)  We agree on some, not on others. People will still disagree with mine, but it is based on living in Sonoma County and drinking local for a lot of decades. If you can't trust experience, what can you trust? 

This is about consistently producing above normal quality wines over many years, sometimes with a little uniqueness or fame thrown in.

The Future of Growning and Making Wine

Looking not too far into the future, what do we see for changes in the way grapes are grown and wine is made? Like other predictions, this is making assumption on current trends. There is always the unforeseen.