Preliminary indicators of this year’s California winegrape harvest suggest another classic, high quality year, according to a panel of vintners from across the state speaking at Wine Institute’s 2000 Vintage Press Conference at the World Trade Club in San Francisco today. The 2000 growing season was ideally mild, punctuated with two heat spikes, a minor 5.2 earthquake that caused no damage, then intermittent rains during the picking and crushing.  The heat resulted in small losses from sunburn, and rain produced some isolated mildew, but the lion’s share of the crop came in clean, with uniform ripening, excellent sugar/acid balance and fantastic colors and flavors. “California is known for its world-acclaimed climate and soil.  Combined with the industry’s cutting edge science and artistic skill in grapegrowing and winemaking, our winegrowers are producing consistently high quality wine,” says John De Luca, president and CEO of Wine Institute. The yields per acre are coming in average to above average for several areas, reported the panel of vintners.  Overall winegrape tonnage for the state has been predicted at 3.2 million tons, according to an estimate made by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) in August.   This is about 23 percent over 1999’s crush of 2.6 million winegrapes tons, and higher than the record crush of 2.9 million winegrapes tons in 1997.  However, several winegrowers have suggested that the total may be lower because of the smaller berry size and lighter weight of the clusters.   CDFA is expected to release its final report on the tonnage in February 2001 (see previous Crush Reports). California produces over 90 percent of U.S. wine.  If the state were a nation, it would be the fourth leading wine producer in the world with 444 million gallons. An edited videotape version of the Wine Institute Vintage Press Conference 2000 is available for viewing on the Institute’s web site at www.wineinstitute.org.   Quotes on California Vintage 2000 CALIFORNIA Frank Cabral, director, grower relations, Trinchero Family Estates, comments on Lodi/Delta and North/Central Coast regions – Aside from the extreme heat spell towards the end of June, overall 2000 experienced a very moderate to cool growing season.  Most Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot crops were near average, with a normal ripening curve; whereas the abundant Chardonnay crop was slower to reach maturity.  Fruit and wine quality looks very good, with all varieties attaining full maturity and well-balanced chemistries.  “Whites” are crisp and fruity, while “reds” have great color and body.  The turn of the century will undoubtedly be remembered as a “vintage year.” Michael Martini, winemaker, Louis M. Martini, comments on Northern California -The year 2000 is a “BIG FLAVOR YEAR.”  While crop yields are normal to just slightly up, the sudden cold snap in harvest has given the extra hang time to create intense fruit aromas and flavors.  Smaller than usual berry size probably helps, with bigger, deeper-colored reds from the skin-juice ratio. Glenn Proctor, vice president—winegrowing UDV, Beaulieu Vineyard/Glen Ellen Winery, comments on North and Central Coast, Delta/Lodi region – The proof is in the pudding they say.  If that is the case, the 2000 vintage could be one of the best ever.  The initial wines are dark (reds), rich, vibrant, and full of ripe delicious flavors.  The wines are going to be DYNAMITE! MENDOCINO & LAKE COUNTIES George Phelan, winemaker, Dunnewood Winery, comments on Mendocino County -2000 has been a near-perfect growing season, with just enough “excitement” to hold our attention!  We had a fairly mild winter, a moderate frost season, a roller coaster June with weather swings of heat and rain causing a fair amount of shatter.  October saw our first significant storm of the season with measurable rainfall.  The quality of the grapes has been exceptional –flavorful whites, deeply colored reds, good acid levels throughout, and almost no rot in the fruit.  The crop levels are generally in the low average range, which contributes to the quality and speed of this year’s harvest. Gerald Ployez, winemaker, Ployez Winery, comments on Lake County – Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are coming in very clean, with nice sugar content and showing promise for the future.  Quality is above average.  The Sauvignon Blanc will not be as grassy as one might expect, and displays very powerful floral aromas. John White, winemaker, Fetzer Vineyards, comments on Mendocino County -- Zinfandels came in early this year – before the Chardonnay for the first time I can remember.  The crop was a little light, but color and quality are very good.  I am excited about the Mendocino Chardonnay this year.  The ripeness, sugar levels, and acidity are perfect, and there is a touch of botrytis here and there which I really love to see.  We are having perfect weather to get the Cabernets ripe, as long as it can hold out!  The Merlot is perfectly ripe, aromatic, and shows great potential.  Overall, the quality is very good. MONTEREY David Fleming, assistant winemaker, Paraiso Springs Vineyards, comments on Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey County – It looks like harvest 2000 will establish the Santa Lucia Highlands as a unique and respected AVA for fine Pinot Noir wines.  The grapes this year are just wonderful and the wines are developing slowly with great color and flavor. The weather this summer was warm, and we’re very thankful, considering the past two seasons.  Excellent vintage 2000! Mark Mirassou, vineyards manager, Mirassou Vineyards, comments on Monterey/Central Coast regions -- On our two Monterey County properties, we are seeing crop loads about 25 percent over average, with superb sugar/acid balances.  The quantity is reminiscent of our bumper ’97 harvest with perhaps even higher quality levels. The extremely long hang-time in Monterey is providing even, slow ripening, with little or no Botrytis or rot problems.  From the quality of the juice arriving at the winery,  our winemaker Tom Stutz anticipates that vintage 2000 will prove exceptional for Burgundian varietals grown on California’s Central Coast. NAPA VALLEY Daniel H. Baron, winemaker, Silver Oak Cellars, comments on Napa Valley and Alexander Valley –- For Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc, I am very excited about the quality and intensity of the wines thus far.  They display great concentration of fruit and complexity.  Cathy Corison, winemaker, Long Meadow Ranch Winery, comments on Napa -- Flavors have been developing at lower sugars than in other years, allowing us to make full-bodied wines at lower alcohol levels.  In fact, most winemakers are effusive about the quality of the 2000 vintage.  Many predict that 2000 will rival, if not surpass, the stunning quality of 1997.   Greg Fowler, senior vice president of winemaking, Sterling Vineyards, Mumm Cuvee Napa, The Monterey Vineyard, comments on Napa Valley -- The Chardonnay looks and tastes fantastic, with smaller berries that are loosely clustered.  Merlot from our Three Palms Vineyard is extremely dense and flavorful with tons of red fruit and berry.  We haven't picked enough Cabernet Sauvignon, but judging from the fruit we are tasting in the field, we are bound to have a very good year for Napa Cabernet. Jim Frisinger, Napa Valley vineyard manager, Beringer Vineyards, comments on Napa Valley – Harvest 2000 is turning out to be very warm and dry…even the threat of rain in early September turned out to be just that—a threat, and in a way, a godsend.  The few days of cooler weather that week gave the vines a chance to mature the fruit, letting the flavors fully develop and allowing the phenolic compounds to catch up with the sugars.  The big news is the quality of the Chardonnay—the best Chardonnay grapes I’ve tasted in 21 years! Glenn Salva, general manager, Atlas Peak Vineyards and William Hill Winery, comments on Napa Valley -- The 2000 harvest receives high marks.  The color and flavors of the wines this year are exceptional and will most certainly add to the complexity of our Napa Valley wines.  The warm, dry weather during the bloom and fruit set last May went a long way in creating consistent, flavorful bunches of grapes.  David Stevens, winemaker, Bouchaine Winery, comments on Napa Valley -- We experienced clean fermentations.  The absence, this year, of weather challenges and the advantages of an even growing season provided for picking at optimum grape maturity. SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA Earl Ault, owner, Cedar Mountain Winery, comments on Livermore Valley - Three more days of sunshine and we’ll bring in our last grapes. Ron Mosley, vineyard manager, Cinnabar Vineyards & Winery, comments on Santa Cruz Mountains – This season has been a perfect growing season in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  The Pinot Noir was picked in early September with rich flavors and aromas.  We are harvesting Chardonnay at present and expect Cabernet to ripen by mid-October.  The weather this summer was warm, and we’re very thankful, considering the past two seasons.  Excellent vintage 2000! Valerie Vanni, owner, Solis Winery, comments on Santa Clara Valley – This season has been the best of the past three years.  The extended harvest has allowed us to let the crop hang to ideal ripeness before picking.  And, when we do pick, it is in small lots. SIERRA FOOTHILLS Edgar Coulson, owner/winemaker, Coulson El Dorado Winery, comments on El Dorado County – Any losses due to spring frost were made up by fruitfulness of the vines in our area.  You can expect wines with “back bones” due to shorter than optimal hang time; water management was critical during two extended heat spells.  The overall quality from the vineyard was excellent.  A good start to the new millennium! Brian Fitzpatrick, co-owner, Fitzpatrick Winery, Vineyards & Lodge, comments on El Dorado County – With over an inch of rain on September 1, certain varieties at near full ripeness began to split.  But immediate picking rescued the Chardonnay.  Overall tonnage is down for us by 10 to 50 percent, depending on the variety.  Quality is high for most everything with higher than normal acidity from the earlier harvests.  The best vintage in years?  Maybe, but let’s wait until we sell last year’s great vintage before we make such a premature statement. SONOMA COUNTY Paul Ahvenainen, senior winemaker, Korbel Champagne Cellars, comments on Russian River Valley -- Vineyard bunch counts were higher than average, but individual cluster weights were light, resulting in an average overall yield.  Flavors for Pinot Noir cuvees seem to be developing well, tending towards red fruit flavors of raspberry and sour cherry.  Chardonnay is also plentiful and flavorful.  Due to high natural acidities this year, we harvested our Chardonnay at slightly higher than normal sugar levels to ensure proper flavor maturity.  This has seemed to work well.  The Chardonnays have well-developed apple and tropical fruit flavors, with good body and a firm acid backbone. Pat Henderson, winemaker, Valley of the Moon Winery, comments on Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County -- It is without doubt the vintage of the century (21st century that is.) Mike Lee, winemaker, Kenwood Vineyards, comments on Sonoma County -- Good weather, clean, flavorful fruit and consistent ripening of grapes lead me to believe that harvest 2000 will materialize into a wonderful vintage.  The incoming fruit looks great; the acid and sugar levels have all been very close to the target percentages we’re shooting for.  With roughly 65 percent of the vineyards harvested, our 2000 estimates will produce at least average tonnage, with some varieties coming in even heavier than most years. Anne Moller-Racke, vineyard manager, Buena Vista Vineyards, comments on Carneros – Hang time is the mantra this year.  A slow growing season with moderate summer temperatures will no doubt add complexity and intense flavors to this year’s fruit.  Buena Vista Carneros’ Pinots are looking great and the table is set for the blending stage and a super vintage. Pete Opatz, director of vineyard operations, Clos du Bois Winery, comments on Sonoma County -- The harvest in the Alexander Valley was up about five percent in terms of tonnage over what we would consider a normal year.  The quality of the fruit was outstanding this year.   I don’t recall a time where the crop size and crop quality were this much in sync. Steve Reeder, winemaker, Chateau St. Jean, comments on Sonoma County – The 2000 harvest started at a “normal” time for Sonoma County.  Test picking began the last week of August and the rush to crush began in earnest by the first full week of September.  Sugars and flavors, especially for the white and early reds such as Pinot Noir and Merlot, have been right on the money. Initial quality assessments show a very good to great vintage. Chris Wills, winemaker, Lake Sonoma Winery, comments on Dry Creek, Russian River Valley, Alexander Valley -- I believe 1997 has met its match.  Dry Creek Zinfandel looks like an excellent vintage; the flavor color and alcohol are superb.  Grapes on the vine taste great for Russian River Valley Chardonnay and for Alexander Valley Cabernet.  SOUTH CENTRAL COAST Dwayne Helmuth & Darren Procsal, winemakers, Callaway Winery, comments on Central Coast -- An expenditure of nearly $2 million for grapes from the Central Coast has had a profound effect on the taste profile of Callaway Coastal wines, given the high-quality harvest of grapes from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties.  We are particularly excited by two successive years of top-notch Syrah from the Paso Robles region. James C. Flood, president, Rancho Sisquoc Winery, comments about Santa Maria Valley in Santa Barbara County – Even though our crop of Chardonnay is the largest in 30 years of growing grapes in Santa Barbara County, the balance between quality and quantity is excellent. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Alexander McGeary, owner, Shadow Mountain Vineyards, comments on Southern California -- The 2000 harvest has turned out as expected with a 15 to 20 percent increase in both white and red varietals.  With no frost damage in the highlands this past spring, my tanks and barrels are filled to capacity.  That's good news for wineries and vineyard estates like us, but not so good for growers who left entire crops unpicked.  Many more vineyards are still being planted in Southern California and supply has out distanced the demand for regional production.  With the outfall of the glassy winged sharpshooter and the spread of Pierce's disease from the south, local growers are not seeing light at the end of their tunnel.  Local wineries however, can expect to see growth and more respect as more local vineyards come into production, especially in San Diego County. SACRAMENTO VALLEY/LODI David Lucas, owner, The Lucas Winery, comments on Lodi -- The Lodi appellation had its unbelievable fourth great vintage in a row for Zinfandel and Chardonnay.  Excellent color, high natural acids, layers of fruit forward flavors are creating elegant young wines--wines that truly can stand with the finest in California.

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