SIPS . . .  The 2023 Wine Harvest is Underway Across the Central Coast
Record rains this spring and a cool summer resulted in the latest harvest start in recent memory. But, the longer hang time – which allows flavors to develop – has winemakers from Paso Robles to Ventura County feeling bullish on Vintage 2023. | | Solterra Strategies, a public relations and marketing firm representing wineries, tourism destinations and marquee wine events throughout the Central Coast, is pleased to share this harvest report from the top winemakers and wine-grape growers in the Paso Robles, Santa Maria and Ventura County American Viticultural Areas (AVAs).
Overall, Central Coast winemakers and growers are reporting 2023 marks the latest harvest start time in decades, with major picks occurring an average of five weeks later than normal. | | To put it in perspective, this is first year I’ve had Labor Day off,” said Dieter Cronje, Winemaker at Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria, Calif. “We’ve just begun and are currently four to five weeks behind last year – the extended timeline could increase with the mild weather we’re experiencing.”
The springtime’s cold temperatures and record rains delayed the grapes from “setting” in the spring, and the summer’s cooler-than-normal temperatures significantly slowed ripening.
To put it in perspective, this is first year I’ve had Labor Day off,” said Dieter Cronje, Winemaker at Presqu’ile Winery in Santa Maria, Calif. “We’ve just begun and are currently four to five weeks behind last year – the extended timeline could increase with the mild weather we’re experiencing.”
The springtime’s cold temperatures and record rains delayed the grapes from “setting” in the spring, and the summer’s cooler-than-normal temperatures significantly slowed ripening. |
The 2023 growing season is the coolest since 2011,” said Bob Tillman, Founder of Alta Colina in Paso Robles. “In fact, heat accumulation (Growing Degree Days) trailed 2011 until mid-July when normal summer temperatures first appeared.”
After years of drought conditions, the record rains the region saw in early 2023 were more than welcome. But with grapes, the winter and spring rains don’t affect the current year’s fruit production, but the following year’s crop. So, many growers are reporting lower yields this year, but are forecasting a bumper crop in 2024.
“The buds we saw in the much drier 2022 season determined 2023’s shoots and clusters,” said McPrice “Mac” Myers, Founder and Winemaker at McPrice Myers in Paso Robles. “So, we’ll see smaller yields this year. Still, the rain did help this year’s canopies, and naturally balanced the crop load. We were very thankful for the rain, which is critical to maintaining overall vine health.”
Martin Ramirez, Head Viticulturist at Ojai Mountain in Ventura County, agrees. “Our vineyard is exceptionally lush this year, and all this vigor should benefit next year's berries. On a positive note, lowering yields during the first seven years of growth can benefit a young vineyard like ours in the long run.”
Despite lower-than-forecasted yields, and a delayed start – the longer hang time has winemakers champing at the bit over 2023’s potential. That’s because a gradual and longer ripening allows grapes to retain acid and develop strong and often complex flavors.
“The long hang time will help with flavors for sure, said Kevin Jussila, Owner and Winemaker at kukkula in Paso Robles. “We are excited how things are shaping up with the acids; they seem to be pretty high, and this could be a big, big plus.”
“The extended hang time has definitely helped develop concentrated flavors,” noted Sherman Thacher, Founder and Winemaker at Thacher in Paso Robles. “Thanks to this year’s conditions, there’s a larger overall variation in berry size that will add to complexity and color, too. This could be a stellar vintage.”
Below is a link to photos, videos and direct quotes from the following winemakers and growers: - Bob Tillman, Founder, and Molly Lonborg, Winemaker Alta Colina (Paso Robles)
- Kevin Jussila, Owner and Winemaker, kukkula (Paso Robles)
- McPrice “Mac” Myers, Founder and Winemaker, McPrice Myers (Paso Robles)
- Martin Ramirez, Head Viticulturist, Ojai Mountain (Ventura County)
- Dieter Cronje, Winemaker, Presqu’ile (Santa Maria)
- Mauricio Marchant, Winemaker, SummerWood Winery & Inn (Paso Robles)
- Sherman Thacher, Founder and Winemaker, Thacher Winery (Paso Robles)
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Aubergine Restaurant at the L'Auberge Hotel CHEERS! TO LEAD SOMM JOHN HAFFEY OF AUBERGINE CARMEL ONE MICHELIN STAR LBN Team Congratulations to Lead Sommelier John Haffey of Aubergine for One  MICHELIN Star and the 2023 MICHELIN Guide California Sommelier Award Winner, presented in partnership with Wine Access! Aubergine is a comfortable California spot with with a touch of european style and luxurious bites and sips to enjoy at a delightful hotel and dining experience located a few hours up the highway from my coastal hometown, but Somm John has some surprises for you and also some unconventional takes on wine pairing that I personally find quite heart warming. This is a sommelier who keeps it simple and his aim regarding pairing is to stay focused on balancing the complexity of the dish and the flavor and texture of the wine, so the lasting impression remains the flavor of the food. At home he states his ideal meal is totally simple. He likes a roast chicken with crispy skin with a red burgundy, enjoyed with people he loves, but says he would be happy forever drinking champagne while eating French fries! This food and wine loving journalist definitely gets John Haffey, and can easily understand why he was sellected 2023 MICHELIN Guide California Sommelier of the year. I Have enjoyed dining at Aubergine often while sta-cationing in Carmel-by-the-Sea, where the extraordinary touch of France menu by Chef Justin Cogley is renowned. John Haffey’s favorite dinner at home which includes roast chicken with champagne and French fries works for me, anytime! Happy Haffey and MICHELIN starred Executive Chef Justin Cogley are making beautiful food and wine music at the lovely Aubergine, the restaurant at L’Auberge Carmel, founded in 1920. I’m looking forward to my next visit to savor some of their newest and divine pairings during summer and fall in Carmel-by-the-Sea. ♦ ♦ ♦ __________________________________________________________________ 
The Grenache Association Welcomes
International Grenache Day
on Friday, September 15 with
LocalWineEvents.com/GrenacheDay -- An Online Portal for #GrenacheDay Events Worldwide
List your public events celebrating Grenache Wines for free at
LocalwineEvents.com/GrenacheDay and
Find a Celebration Near You The Grenache Association – a not-for-profit coalition of fans of the Grenache grape – welcomes the world to celebrate the 13th International Grenache Day on Friday, September 15, 2023. This annual event, held on the third Friday of every September, has been instrumental in spreading the “gospel of Grenache” through social media initiatives, in-person and virtual wine tastings, and events at wineries, wine shops, wine bars, wine academies, and restaurants.
Each year celebrations take place globally, including in top Grenache-growing countries like Spain, where the grape originated, France, where it has the largest number of Grenache plantings in the world, Australia’s Barossa Valley which has the oldest Grenache vines on the planet, the United States which planted its first Grenache in the 1860s, and in Italy which produces more wines than any other country. This year, the Grenache Association welcomes a new partnership with LocalWineEvents.com which created a portal specifically for #GrenacheDay on its website: LocalWineEvents.com/GrenacheDay. Participating venues, industry professionals, and others can post their public events on the site which wine lovers can search for by city or browse all events worldwide. Local Wine Events is the world’s biggest site for neighborhood wine and food event listings in over 63 countries. Their weekly e-newsletter The Juice reaches over 300,000+ subscribers with an average readership of 500,000 wine and food enthusiasts weekly. According to LWE founder Eric Orange, “Our mission at Local Wine Events is to make wine events easily accessible wherever you are in the world and to help promote wine shops, restaurants, wineries, and wine! Grenache is one of our favorite varietals and #GrenacheDay is a great opportunity to list fun events to promote it.”
Over the past 12 years of International Grenache Days, fun events have included restaurants creating vibrant menus to pair with their favorite Grenache wines, wine shops held Grenache tastings and sales events, wineries scheduled estate tours and Grenache picnics, wine bars ran blind tastings with rare vintages to challenge the palates of their favorite customers, and consumers celebrated with BYOG gatherings. What will you do?
ABOUT GRENACHE: Grenache is planted on six of the seven continents and delivers a “sense of place” or expression of its terroir in every sip. It is enjoyed by wine mavens and newbies who embrace its earthy fruitiness and complexity, long finish, and medium body which translates to a velvety, voluptuous mouthfeel. This versatile varietal is the cornerstone of great wines like Châteauneuf-du-Papes, GSMs, and many rosés. Laurence Ferraud of Château Pegau loves how Grenache morphs into "1000 variations and nuances,” reflecting the varied soils -- pebbles, sand, clay-- that give birth to her award-winning wines: "Grenache is our King, no other grape variety matches better the terroir in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. It gives full expressions as it ages, from its deep black fruit to its range of spices. Our Domaine du Pegau wines are 80% Grenache. This grape has been the heart and soul of my family for generations, since the start of Domaine Pegau in 1987 and my own Chateau Pegau since 2012." GRENACHE ASSOCIATION: Thanks in part to the Grenache Association’s campaign, Grenache has also been recognized as a major player in the wine world as a standalone single-varietal wine. The late Stephen Spurrier, Michel Bettane, Walter McKinlay of Domaine du Mourchon, and Nicole Sierra-Rolet of Chêne Bleu wines launched #GrenacheDay in 2010 with their grassroots association run by volunteers. CLIMATE CHANGE WARRIOR: Grenache is considered by many as the most climate-change-friendly grape grown. Its wind and drought-resistant deep root system reaches the water table, making it less dependent on rainwater or irrigation for hydration. CELEBRITY VINTNERS: Celebrity vintners like actor Cameron Diaz worked with Famille Negrel, one of the oldest organic wine-making families in Provence, for her rosé. Grammy-winner John Legend’s LVE Legend Vineyard Exclusive’s French Rosé is more than half Grenache from France’s Languedoc Roussillon region and his LVE Napa Valley Grenache is nearly 100% from Raymond Vineyards’ Calistoga vines, guided by the visionary owner Jean-Charles Boisset. Music legend Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse turned to “rockstar” French winemaker Gerard Bertrand to create an authentically French rosé using 60% Grenache in their Hampton Water Wine.
Comments Grenache Association co-founder Nicole Rolet of Chêne Bleu: “More and more superstar winemakers are turning to Grenache to build their blends and even more are embracing it as a single blend wine. The word “Grenache” should be in every wine lover’s lexicon. Connoisseurs know and love Grenache and celebrity wines are a great path to introducing it to a new audience.”
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