Heavy rainfall in California ‘is a blessing’

A series of winter storms caused the heaviest rainfall in the last decade, which has resulted in burst river banks, fallen trees and road blockages across California’s wine regions.

The meteorological phenomenon, caused by a polar jet stream that creates an atmospheric river known as ‘the pineapple express’, saw over 100mm of rain fall in less than 24 hours.

There has been significant flooding in poorly drained vineyards on the valley floor in Napa and Sonoma. However, the timing has spared any negative impact.

‘Some parts of the vineyard are slow to drain, but the flooding hasn’t been a problem because the vines are dormant,’ explains Groth Vineyards Director of Winemaking, Cameron Parry.

‘Last year in some parts of the valley they had bud break starting in January because of a mild winter, but this year it has been cold enough that we are expecting a more normal bud break time in March.’

A more destructive consequence has been felt on the hillsides, where several mudslides have taken down vines in their path.

‘We have already recorded 72 inches of rain, and we aren’t done yet,’ said Ron Rosenbrand, Vineyard Manager at Spring Mountain Vineyard who were affected by landslides last week.

‘This year we have been inundated with heavy rainfall… 200% more than normal. The steeper you are, and if you have soils that are somewhat unstable, you are going to have [landslides]. It is happening all over the valley, and all over California in fact. But it is a blessing. When you have been fighting the drought for many years, having more rain than you need is all of a sudden a nice luxury to have.’

As the spring arrives, and the rain subsides, most winemakers are grateful to see an end to the prolonged drought with refilled reservoirs in time for the 2017 season. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, only 17% of California is now in drought, compared to 95% this time last year.


 

Premiere Napa Valley auction 2017 raises $4.2 million

Premiere Napa Valley features small lots of unique wines sold exclusively to retailers, restaurateurs and wholesalers.

These special bottlings can be obtained no other way, and every bottle is hand-signed and individually numbered by the winemaker on release.

As usual, a heady atmosphere prevailed, with bursts of cheering and applause punctuating the sale as buyers vied for the most sought-after wines, on Saturday 25th February.

‘The whole week was filled with high energy and we had the chance to share our wines and further build relationships with our partners in the trade,’ said Andy Erickson of Favia Erickson Winegrowers, who along with wife Annie Favia led this year’s event organizing committee.

This year’s auction, hosted at the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in Saint Helena, focused on the 2015 vintage, which accounted for 189 of the 217 lots up for sale this year. And as usual, Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux varieties made up the bread-and-butter of the portfolio.

A harvest marked by low yields and drought conditions, the 2015s display early promise: the wines are generally deep and powerful, with firmer structure and more brooding aromatics than the juicy, supple 2014s.

The most expensive lot of the afternoon, however, was a 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon from Scarecrow Vineyards, which sold for $200,000: a ripe, heady wine from this cult producer’s Rutherford vineyard, famous for its ancient Cabernet Sauvignon vines.

Throughout the morning’s pre-sale tasting, Scarecrow’s winemaker Celia Welch was surrounded by attendees eager to sample this special old vine bottling, which spent seven more months in barrel than the regular Scarecrow Cabernet.

Other top lots included offerings from Alpha Omega, Arkenstone, Silver Oak Cellars, Robert Mondavi Winery, Honig Vineyard & Winery, Rombauer Vineyards, Shafer Vineyards, a group lot from Arrow&Branch/Caldwell/Covert/Italics wineries, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Dalla Valle Vineyards and Staglin Family Vineyard.

New this year was a greater emphasis on the Premiere Napa Valley Online Auction where 20 per cent of the lots were sold.

Open to trade bidders anywhere in the world, 270 accounts from California to Canada to Japan registered to bid on the 45 lots that were available exclusively online generating nearly $500,000 of the day’s total sales.

Australia’s Swan Valley counts cost of ‘once in a century’ floods

Catastrophic floods are estimated to have cost Western Australia’s Swan Valley wine region millions of dollars in fruit losses right at the climax of this year’s growing season.

The region, which has been declared a ‘natural disaster zone’ by government officials, received an unprecedented deluge of rain this month. Water burst the banks of the Swan River and flooded many of the low lying vineyards in the vicinity.

While nearby Sandalford Wines had picked most of the whites prior to the rains, chief executive Grant Brinklow said there was no time to save the Chenin Blanc or Semillon.

‘Parts of our property were 10-foot under water,’ he told the media.

‘Chenin Blanc is more susceptible to the skins splitting so the vines soaked up all of the moisture and we now have this explosion of fruit split. Botrytis and mould then set in from the humid conditions that followed.

‘In 177 years of growing wine grapes on this site, we’ve never experienced botrytis and fruit splitting of this scale. This was a catastrophic once in a century event.

‘We’re removing some fruit to eliminate the risk of botrytis spreading in the vineyard and to avoid the disease impacting on future vintages.’

Sittella Wines is located on the upper banks of the Swan River and as word spread of the impending flood, the team worked night and day to pick all of the whites. But, the entire Shiraz block and some Petit Verdot were unsalvageable.

‘The Shiraz crop was literally drowned in two-metres of water. We couldn’t even see the top wire of the vines for days,’ said owner, Maaike Berns. ‘The areas above the water line are now susceptible to disease. It’s devastating.’

Swan Valley and Regional Winemakers Association president John Griffiths said, ‘A few wineries have been severely affected by flooding. After 140mm of rain it certainly has put all wineries in the Swan Valley under a lot of pressure, setting back ripening, splitting grapes and causing disease, so lots of fruit will be lost.’