Winter rain thrills winemakers, even amid landslide and ‘wet harvest’ threats

As Prudy Foxx walked through rows of ripe fruit in several vineyards nestled among the Santa Cruz Mountains last September, she cringed at the slender buds that rose from the vine’s stubby trunks.

“I was looking at the canes going into winter and a lot of them were a little thin for my taste,” said Foxx. “They were the diameter of a #2 pencil and lacked their protein component. I thought ‘this is a real problem’. ”

A similar scene played out last fall in many vineyards around the Bay Area: years of drought taking a destructive toll on the vines, threatening a billion-dollar industry and putting more pressure on California’s scarce stored water resources.

Then, like a “gift from God”, the rains came.

Over several weeks in December and January, storms dropped more than a foot of rain across Northern California, breaking all-time records and leaving a vast trail of devastation in their wake. But in Livermore, Napa and the Santa Cruz Mountains, winemakers rejoiced as rainwater flowed into their reservoirs and the water table received a much-needed replenishment. With each passing storm, the vineyards came closer and closer to beating the drought.

“We’re starting the year with some much-needed optimism and positivity,” said Foxx, a consultant who works with about 90% of all Santa Cruz Mountain wineries. “We’ll have to see when we get into spring, but so far, it’s good news overall. Rain has been a godsend for winegrowers.”

The gift of rain also had a downside. Downed trees blocked roads and cut off some vineyards in the Bay Area’s mountains, while other areas suffered property damage, landslides and near-constant power outages.

In Napa Valley, arborists had long told Tom Davies that the massive 275-year-old oak that spread its long branches over his bucolic Napa Valley vineyard and market would outlast his life. But as the rain continued to fall and the winds picked up, the tree that had shaded countless weddings, picnics and wine tastings cracked and fell.

“We centered a lot of what we did around that oak,” said Tom Davies, president of V. Sattui Winery, which is best known for producing wines like the Prestige Cuvée. “It was the best cared for oak in the valley. It meant a lot.”

Still, the thought of another year of sweltering temperatures and little water alarmed him and others in the region. Avoiding another political water battle in California is an added benefit. But was it worth losing the signature of your vineyard?

“We’ve had buildings burned in fires, we’ve lost entire rows of vines in fires,” Davies said. “All of this can be replanted or rebuilt. But with this oak, it’s a 275-year-old oak. Of course, we can plant a new tree, but it will never be the same.”

One vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains that Foxx works closely with — the Green Earth winery on Old Mount Road, near Felton — told Foxx it lost about 100 vines in a landslide in January. He took out two whole rows.

“But when they replanted them, they just popped back up,” Foxx said. “These are really hardy plants.”

Just three years ago, the Bay Area wine industry was looking at an entirely different forecast. In late June 2018, Russian River Valley growers were working fast in sweltering heat to harvest as many grapes as possible before they became raisins in the intense heat.

Even as the days of water scarcity and strict regulations on agricultural diversions continue into the future, as California’s climate changes, Napa Valley winegrowers have been happy to see rain seep into the soil in recent weeks.

“We really got away with the worst of it this year,” Davies said. “We needed the rain and I’m very grateful for that because I was very concerned about how we were going to navigate as an industry without rain for another year. Those questions still remain.”

All that rain won’t necessarily lead to bad wine either.

Sommelier Amanda McCrossin — who runs a popular TikTok account highlighting Napa Valley’s historic vineyards — said the rain came exactly when it needed it: just before the vines woke up from their winter hibernation and started sprouting. Winegrowers have their fingers crossed that the extra January wetness doesn’t affect the flavor of the grapes harvested this year, but it could if the rains continue through the spring and summer.

Commonly known as a “wet vintage,” wine in wetter years isn’t as “juicy” as normal and is a bit more herbaceous, sour and acidic — and generally lower in alcohol, McCrossin said.

“We say it’s a little green,” McCrossin said. “It doesn’t happen that much in California because it doesn’t rain that much. But it happens when the fruit doesn’t fully ripen.”

While McCrossin said there’s not much to worry about with a wet 2023 vintage, wet wines are generally less desirable. In 2011, Napa winemakers produced mostly wet vintages after the latest storms brought rain at the peak of the harvest.

“It always depends on when the rain falls,” McCrossin said.

For now, vineyards across the state are gearing up for a growing season unlike any in recent years. Winemakers are on the lookout for fungus and other diseases that thrive in soil and wet conditions. Trimming the canopy and making sure each grape gets as much sunlight as possible will also be crucial, Foxx said.

“It’s important for the farmer to notice early in the season and start thinning and stripping the leaves,” Foxx said. “If one succeeds, one actually preserves its fruit and allows that exposure to light and air. Light and air are really where flavor and color come from. As Galileo said, ‘Wine is sunlight in a bottle.’ “