Harvest caps challenging year for Calif. vintners

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California vintners are bringing in the grape harvest this month after a challenging year that started with unusually sharp frosts and moved on to smoky summer wildfires.

So far, it looks like the crop will be smaller than usual but the fruit that is coming in is good, said Karen Ross, president of the California Association of Winegrape Growers. "People are very happy to date with the quality and flavor development," she said.

The harvest caps a season that began with late frosts that struck just as vines were beginning to send out shoots. That was followed in some areas by a heat spike that hit during flowering, another adverse condition, said Nick Frey, president of the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission.

"We have had some real tough spots," he said. On the plus side, conditions for much of the season were "pretty ideal," he said.

California winemakers brace for smaller supply of grapes

As California's winemakers begin the 2008 harvest, they are scrambling to find enough Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

After several years of bumper crops, Mother Nature turned fickle this year, offering up deep frosts, followed by hot weather and ultimately not enough rain.

• 

"This is one of the strangest weather patterns that I have seen in more than 30 years of farming," said Andy Beckstoffer, the largest independent grower on California's North Coast.