Wine grape harvest begins in Monterey County

UPDATE 8/4/2017 5:15 p.m.:

Wine lovers have a reason to toast, as industry experts anticipate a solid season ahead for the Central Coast.

On Thursday, Scheid Vineyards kicked off the 2017 wine grape harvest, picking grapes for its sparkling wine program.

“We harvest sparkling wine grapes early because we want the grapes to be high in acidity and relatively how in sugars,” said Kim Stemler, the executive director of Monterey County Vintners and Growers Association.

The 124-acre Caraccioli Cellars in the Northern Santa Lucia Highlands is up next, with plans to harvest on Monday.

“We had a decent amount of ripening in the last leg of growing season, which made it catch up a decent amount to last year’s standard of harvest timing,” said Scott Caraccioli, general manager of Caraccioli Cellars.

Heavy winter rains, a mild spring and recent warm weather are setting the tone for a strong season.

“We had a decent bloom with really supportive weather so we’re able to get some beautiful grapes and the load is around average, sometimes slightly low in our crop load. And what we’re hearing about quality is its very good,” Stemler said.

The most recent crop report showed Monterey County’s wine grapes are worth $238 million, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay still the area’s prized grapes.

“Monterey County is the growing wine region in California right now,” Stemler said. “We still have some room to grow and that’s different from Napa and Sonoma and other areas. Our climate is really conducive to growing, especially with these rains. As long as we can continue to get steady rains during the winter, we’re going to continue to be conducive to growing. So I think you’ll just see the popularity of Monterey wine grapes as well as our wine continue to grow. People are really noticing Monterey right now.”

Harvesting will be in full force by the end of August or the first week of September, lasting throughout the end of October.

ORIGINAL POST:

The 2017 grape harvesting season is underway in Monterey County.

Growers are harvesting grapes for sparkling wines. They said it’s the best time because producers look for grapes to be high in acidity but low in sugars. Industry experts think 2017 crops will be good, thanks to the winter rain and moderate weather.

The executive director of Monterey County Vintners Association said “We had a decent bloom with really supportive weather so we’re able to get some beautiful grapes and the load is around average, sometimes slightly low in our crop load. And what we’re hearing about quality is its very good.”

Other producers will begin harvesting grapes for still wine at the end of the month. Monterey County’s wine grapes are worth $238 million, with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay being the top grapes.

KION’s Mariana Hicks has the full story at 6 p.m.