A couple of weeks ago, travel broadcaster John Hamilton of KGO-AM810 mentioned that the grape harvest was running late this year and he questioned whether the autumnal change was also running later than usual, as well. We responded that yes, our color spotters were reporting that color was showing a week to two weeks late this fall. And, our reports have consistently noted color appearing about a week later than last year.
Yesterday I toured the Napa Valley from Chardonnay Golf Course to St. Helena and found very little color showing. Sections of vineyards are coloring yellow, but the change is still very slight. The aromas of fermentation are evident near the wineries, so the harvest is underway, yet color is still a week to two weeks late.
0 – 15% – Napa Valley – Yellow is coloring individual vineyards or sections of them, but there’s still a lot of green.
