California Ag Network

Tag: weather

  • Cooler Weather and Thunder Storms Are the Latest Additions to Sonoma County’s 2017 Wine Harvest Saga

    Santa Rosa, Calif., (October 3, 2017) – When the book is closed on the 2017 Sonoma County winegrape harvest, “weather” will need to dominate the conversation as Mother Nature continues to impact the efforts of local farmers as they harvest this year’s crop.  The year began with record winter rainfall, followed by a mild spring, a scorching summer and finally cooler weather in mid-September. That respite helped bring order to the harvest, though it did not last long as rain showers turned to thunderstorms in late September creating new concerns for farmers.

    Reports from the vineyards indicate that this year’s extreme weather, particularly the sustained heat waves, will likely impact the size of the harvest.  Early estimates were for an average size crop of excellent quality. However, in the past few weeks, farmers are reporting some significant weight loss in grape numbers due to the heat, which caused some growers and vintners to pick grapes earlier than they had planned.  Around the middle of the month, rain arrived forcing farmers to check their grapes, open up the canopy, and in some instances, use larges blowers in the vineyards to dry out certain varieties prior to harvesting. Currently, about 70% of the Sonoma County grapes have been harvested.

    The other ongoing challenge facing Sonoma County winegrape growers is the availability of labor and the logistics of moving crews and equipment around the county.  While there is not a critical shortage this season, the labor supply remains very tight to the point that some growers are not harvesting on the day they want because workers are not available. Despite all the weather fluctuations and current labor supply, most growers still anticipate harvest being completed by mid-October.

    Russian River Valley – With the Pinot Noir harvest almost complete and Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Merlot and other varieties winding down, growers in the Russian River AVA have experienced two different harvests.  For early ripening varieties that matured and were picked, nearly every grower cited excellent quality and better than average yields. For varieties ripening during or after the extreme heat wave in the beginning of September, growers experienced a noticeable drop in yields but were impressed by the outstanding quality.

    Dry Creek Valley – Zinfandel, Cabernet, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot are currently being picked or will soon begin being harvested. The growing season had it all – perfect growing conditions, a number of searing heat waves and late summer rains, while cooler weather in September helped return schedules back to normal.

    Alexander Valley – Harvest has been completed for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. Other varieties in the AVA, including Cabernet, Zinfandel, Merlot and Malbec, should be completed in the next two to three weeks.  Like elsewhere in Sonoma County, the 2017 harvest has been intense with conditions changing every few days while the struggle to find enough labor remains constant.

    Pine Mountain-Cloverdale Peak – Harvest should be completed in the next two weeks.  Tonnage is down slightly while quality is average to excellent depending on the variety and the vineyard.  Much of the Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon is being harvested this week.  Labor is tight, optimism is high.

    Sonoma Coast – Growers are taking advantage of the cooler weather to prolong the time on the vine.  Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah and Riesling are or will soon be harvested.  A common refrain has been that brix levels are steady but not quite ready for harvest.  Along with labor concerns, weather has been the greatest challenge facing growers, especially over the past two months of the season.

    Sonoma Valley – Growers throughout the AVA are racing to complete harvest within the next week to ten days.  Varieties were impacted differently by the heat throughout the AVA. One grower reported his Chardonnay was picked 30% light while his Malbec and Merlot were the same yield levels as last year.  Other growers reported both exceptional quality and yields. Growers are hoping that hand labor will be freed up to enable Sonoma Valley growers to access crews when they need it since the harvest is winding down in other parts of Sonoma County.

    Sonoma Mountain – Harvest is winding down for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with most harvested around the heat wave over Labor Day weekend at exceptional quality. Harvest is currently beginning for Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel on Sonoma Mountain with completion likely around the end of October. Sugar levels and flavors are close.  The summer’s heat waves did burn leaves and desiccated some fruit particularly among Merlot. With that said, quality looks good with overall yields slightly below normal.

    Follow the Harvest – If you want up-to-the-minute updates on Sonoma County’s harvest activities directly from our grape growers and wineries, the Sonoma County Winegrowers have created an online Harvest Tracker to help everyone stay informed on what’s happening in our vineyards and cellars.

     

  • Snowpack’s Statewide Water Content is Below Average

    Sacramento, Calif., January 12, 2017) – Today’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) manual snow survey at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada range found a snow water equivalence of 6 inches, which is 5.3 inches less than the average early-January snow water equivalence of 11.3 inches as measured at Phillips since 1964.

    Snow water equivalence is the depth of water that theoretically would result if the entire snowpack melted instantaneously. That measurement is more important than depth in evaluating the status of the snowpack. (Measurements of snow water equivalence and depth at Phillips and other nearby snow courses are posted in the table below.)

    More telling than a survey at a single location, however, are DWR’s electronic readings today from 105 stations scattered throughout the Sierra Nevada. Measurements indicate the water content of the northern Sierra snowpack is 7.2 inches, 68 percent of the multi-decade average for the date. The central and southern Sierra readings are 7.4 inches (65 percent of average) and 6.6 inches (73 percent of average) respectively. Statewide, the snowpack holds 7.2 inches of water equivalent, or 70 percent of the January 3 average.

    January and February are two of California’s three historically wettest months, which means the readings taken today at Phillips during the winter’s first media-oriented snow survey are a key starting point of information but don’t shed much light on how wet the wet season ultimately will be.

    The Phillips snow course, which is near the intersection of Highway 50 and Sierra-at- Tahoe Road, is one of hundreds that will be surveyed manually throughout the winter. Manual measurements augment the electronic readings from about 100 snow pillows in the Sierra Nevada that provide a current snapshot of the water content in the snowpack.

    Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, conducted today’s survey at Phillips and reported that a water content there of only 53 percent of the early-January average “seems a little gloomy.”

    “Keep in mind,” he continued, “we had pretty much bare ground here about a week ago, with a few patches of snow. Most of the snow we measured today came down in the last couple days and is continuing to come down.”

    Gehrke said forecasters predict a series of wet cold storms stretching into next week. “That’s going to bolster the snowpack,” he said. “I can see us being potentially at average once that series of storms moves through. I think it’s a very encouraging start to the winter, and certainly we’ve had other winters when (Phillips) has been basically a bare field.”

    State Climatologist Mike Anderson said about half of California’s annual rainfall occurs in December, January and February and about two-thirds of the annual total arrives during December through March. Total precipitation so far this water year, which began October 1, has been above average, but warm temperatures during storm events have tended to cause precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow in many mountain locations.

    “We still have three historically wet months ahead of us,” Anderson said, “so there’s still time for the snowpack to build and improve before it begins to melt, which usually starts happening around April 1.”

    Acting DWR Director Bill Croyle said above-average precipitation since the start of Water Year 2017 in October added significantly to storage in 154 reservoirs tracked by the Department. Croyle said DWR has estimated total storage at the end of December at 21.5 million acre-feet (MAF), 98 percent of the reservoirs’ historical average of 21.9 MAF on December 31.

    Lake Shasta, California’s largest surface reservoir, now holds 118 percent of its historical average on today’s date. One year ago, Shasta’s storage was just 50 percent of its average. Similarly, Lake Oroville, the State Water Project’s largest reservoir, holds much more water today than a year ago — 91 percent of its historical average compared to just 47 percent one year ago.

    “Precipitation and storage are doing quite well compared to the past 5 years of historic drought conditions,” Croyle said, “and that makes us cautiously optimistic about water conditions, although some areas in California are still hit hard by the drought and require a response. The snowpack is clearly lagging below its early-January average, but we have many more snow courses to measure this winter before we’ll know whether this water year has had a significant positive effect on the drought.”

    DWR conducts five media-oriented snow surveys each winter – near the first of January, February, March, April and May – at the Phillips Station plot in the Sierra Nevada range just off Highway 50 near Sierra-at-Tahoe Road 90 miles east of Sacramento.

    On average, the snowpack supplies about 30 percent of California’s water needs as it melts in the spring and early summer. The greater the snowpack water content, the greater the likelihood California’s reservoirs will receive ample runoff as the snowpack melts to meet the state’s water demand in the summer and fall.

    Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. declared a drought State of Emergency on January 17, 2014 and directed State officials to take all necessary actions to prepare for water shortages. California has experienced five consecutive water years of drought conditions and is three months into a possible sixth consecutive year.

    Conservation – the wise, sparing use of water – remains California’s most reliable drought management tool. Each individual act of conservation, such as letting the lawn go brown or replacing a washer in a faucet to stop a leak, makes a difference over time. Californians can learn ways to save water every day by visiting SaveOurWater.com.

    Video and photographs of today’s Phillips survey will be posted here after processing.

    Electronic snowpack readings are available on the Internet at: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/snowapp/sweq.action For earlier readings, click the calendar icon below the map, select a date, then Refresh Data.

    Water Year 2017’s precipitation can be found at the following link; look in the right-hand column for the Northern Sierra 8-station index for updated rainfall readings in the critical northern portion of the state, as well as the San Joaquin 5- station and Tulare Basin 6-station links: http://cdec.water.ca.gov/snow_rain.html

    For a broader snapshot of current and historical weather conditions, see DWR’s “Water Conditions” and “Drought” pages:

    Water Conditions Page: http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/waterconditions.cfm

    Drought Page: http://www.water.ca.gov/waterconditions/index.cfm

    Everyday water conservation tips at Save Our Water: http://saveourwater.com