Wine Harvest Starts Super Early, But Could End Closer to Normal 

As far as anyone can recall, it’s the earliest wine grape harvest ever in Santa Barbara County history. 

But the rest of it may play out closer to normal for some vintners, largely dependent on where you are located and which varieties you’re growing — the cooler regions such as the Sta. Rita Hills and Santa Maria Valley appear remarkably early, while warmer spots around Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos, and Happy Canyon aren’t quite so advanced. 

Equally variable are the yields — in some places, they are extremely low, in others, the weight appears to be closer to average. 

These diverse interpretations of what’s happening are always the pitfall of publishing harvest reports during the early days of harvest, before the fermentation even really starts. But it remains a common annual practice across the wine mediascape, so we joined in the crowd this year, asking vintners across Santa Barbara County for their early impressions. 

“This is my 15th harvest in the Santa Maria Valley and is the earliest I have ever seen,” said Will Henry of Lumen Wines, from the counties’ northern reaches. That leads people to wonder whether that’s because it’s been a hot year, but it hasn’t. 

“Oddly, the growing season has been fairly even and normal,” said Henry of the spring and summer months. Rather, it was the summer-like weather in January and February that triggered the vines to come out of dormancy nearly a month early. “That set their time clock ahead and led to early flowering, fruit set, and hence an early harvest,” explained Henry, who is seeing close to average yields himself. 

Ernst Storm makes wine in both the Santa Maria Valley and the Sta. Rita Hills, and it’s his earliest harvest in his 20 years. He agrees with Henry’s assessment, but is seeing yields down up to 40 percent off normal. “Vine age seems to be playing a big role this year,” said Storm. “We are seeing inconsistencies in how vines ripen within vineyards.”

Storm also tracks other warmer appellations for clients, and they are looking a bit more typical. “It is weird that some AVAs and varietals are way ahead with others tracking more normal,” he said. 

Wynne Sargeant at Brave & Maiden in the warmer heart of the Santa Ynez Valley was planning her first pick of sauvignon blanc for August 25, which is only about two weeks ahead of normal. “Healthy foliage is helping us weather this consistent heat, but these long, hot days are causing rapid ripening,” she said. “Acidity is still high, even though we have seen some warmer evenings.” 

Proper planning can help alleviate any viticultural issues caused by an early and compressed vintage, where different varieties get harvested closer to each other on the calendar than usual. 

“This is our third harvest with our own vineyard team, and a compressed vintage is exactly where all the investment throughout the year as a crew pays off,” said Samra Morris, winemaker at Alma Rosa Winery. “When the timing windows tighten, having a team that knows these blocks intimately means we execute with precision rather than scrambling to catch up.”

Her early picks, though light in weight, look excellent. “Clusters are smaller with unusually uniform berry size, and the numbers are pointing toward deep, rich color,” said Morris. “We’re genuinely excited about the quality this year … just a little sad there won’t be as much of it as we’d like.”

Early harvests in the vineyard can trigger more logistical issues back at the winery too. “It’s weird trying to prep for bottling while processing grapes simultaneously!” said Matt Brady from Samsara Wines, who barely has enough tanks for everything at once. “It’s perhaps not the most fun puzzle to work on, but we are figuring it out and always eager to navigate new and unique harvest challenges. There are different ‘curveballs’ every year!”

Peter Stolpman’s vineyard is tracking about one month earlier than usual, and the crop looks about 25 percent lighter than normal. But he likes it. 

“We are grateful for this as the past three years have been cool and late,” said Stolpman. “We were at the mercy of Mother Nature to ripen before dormancy. This year we have full strategic latitude to decide when to pick.”   

The human upside to an early harvest is that the workload lightens up much sooner for these winemakers, who often, like last year, are stuck in their cellars through Thanksgiving. “The early start means we will finish early, which kind of sounds nice!” said Storm. 

Henry at Lumen Wines agreed. “I expect to be all wrapped up in the vineyard and winery by mid-September,” he said, “which means vacation comes early this year!”