Ask a vintner to describe the color of a young white wine and you’ll hear, “pale straw with green reflections.” But, ask the same vintner what color Pinot Noir leaves are in autumn and you’ll get a blank stare.
As Risa Wyatt shows above, they are yellow.
Risa went looking for answers to questions about Sonoma County’s 2022 harvest, which just finished last week, and returns with this report.
A golden finale was seen at Lynmar on the Vineyard Hillside. This year’s vintage brought challenges to growers, including spring frost, an early September heat spike, and hard frosts in early November. So, while the grape quality is high, the quantity is low.
“The size of the berries was small this year, but they have excellent concentration and depth of flavor,” says Pete Soergel, winemaker at Lynmar Estate in the Russian River Valley whose Quail Hill Vineyard is planted with 14 Pinot Noir and two Chardonnay clones.
Vineyards at Lynmar Estate sweep down to the Laguna de Santa Rosa, the largest freshwater wetlands on the northern California coast. The creeks, marshes, riparian forests, and grasslands provide a home for hundreds of species of birds and mammals such as mink, badger, bobcat, and river otter.
In addition, the Laguna enhances wine-grape quality. “Cool air drains down our vineyard slopes and helps keep acid level high in the grapes,” says Pete Soergel, winemaker at Lynmar Estate. With proximity to the Laguna, Lynmar practices regenerative agriculture and utilizes solar power.
Vines are carrying orange to yellow leaves.
Home to 60,000 acres of vineyards and more than 425 wineries, Sonoma County has 19 American Viticultural Areas (AVAs, or appellations). In the Russian River Valley, cooling fogs from the Pacific Ocean and rivers create moderate temperatures that are ideal for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
In 2022, springtime budbreak and autumn harvest both came early to this region, and the golden vines are starting to drop their leaves. But fall color continues in other parts of the county, varying according to climate, elevation, and grape variety.
For more than a century, five generations of the Kunde Family have farmed a dramatic 1,850-acre estate in Kenwood, the heart of Sonoma Valley. The property sweeps 1,700 feet from the valley floor up to the Mayacamas Mountains. In autumn, vineyard blocks planted with different varieties drape patchworks of color over the foothills.
Note how each block has a different color: yellow, red, orange, lime. That’s indicative of how varied species peak on their own schedule and in different tones.
- Sonoma County Vineyards (164′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
- Mendocino County Vineyards (633′) – PEAK (75-100%) GO NOW!
