Petaluma grape harvest slowly ramps up

Wine grapes from Petaluma’s wind-swept hills take a little longer to mature, but remain coveted.|

When grapes are maturing during harvest, unexpected rainfall can decrease sugars and cause the resulting wines to taste thin and diluted. Heat spikes could force winegrowers waiting to pick to suddenly spring into action.

For Keller Estate, a 92-acre winery atop the bucolic hills of Lakeville Highway, having an agile team pays dividends in those moments, said winemaker Julien Teichmann. This week’s rains didn’t amount to much, he said, and the heat wave last week was short enough that the grapes recovered from some light dehydration rather quickly.

“It is always concerning to have unusual, extreme weather ahead of you, but you have to be prepared,” said Teichmann. “At this stage of the season, too much rain can have a very negative impact on the fruit, but the low amount didn’t (do much).”

Overall, it’s been another season of balanced weather in the distinct climate of Petaluma’s winegrowing region, and industry members are excited about the high yields and complex wines nearing production as crush season slowly gets underway.

This month marks the beginning of the second harvest since the Petaluma Gap was declared an official American Viticulture Area, an achievement that helped separate the diverse district from the more than 500,000 acres in the Sonoma Coast AVA that had historically been its home.

As laborers pluck grapes throughout the warmer regions nearby, many production teams in the Petaluma Gap are anxiously waiting for the final stages of the maturation process to complete.

The combination of whipping winds, foggy mornings and bright afternoon sun causes a longer growing season that usually keeps Petaluma pickers about two weeks behind their peers.

“There’s always some uncertainty - and no vintage ever starts out smoothly - and this one has been slow to start,” said Ana Keller, director of Keller Estate. “We’re always anxious to get into it … and there’s anticipation building up. My concern is that if we do get some heat, we may have to pick (everything) at the same time.”

Petaluma is traditionally known for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah grapes in a climate that can be less labor intensive compared to other AVAs, offering winemakers more control so they can harvest their crop at the desired sugar levels. Industry members say the result is more intricate flavors in their wines.

Recently, Petaluma grapes have been completing the veraison process when pigments change, acidity declines and sugars steadily develop. Veraison occurred later this year, particularly for the grapes growing in the higher elevations on Sonoma Mountain, said Evan Pontoriero, co-owner and winemaker at Fogline Vineyards.

Two of Fogline’s seven vineyards are located at the highest elevation of any winery in the Petaluma Gap, where their fruit is grown on roughly five acres of a 13-acre property that’s 2,200 feet above sea level.

“I think all the winemakers are really excited about (this year’s harvest),” said Pontoriero, vice president of the Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance. “I think some are concerned about the oversupply, and I think there are some growers finding some difficulty, losing contracts and buyers that are waiting on the spot market at the end (of the season).”

Yields in Sonoma, Napa, Lake and Mendocino counties reached a record $2 billion value last year with an all-time high of 588,864 tons of grapes crushed. The oversupply comes at a time when retail wine sales are slowing down and much of the 2018 surplus remains unpurchased.

Pontoriero said that reality, coupled with the growing appeal of Gap fruit, has made it “absurdly expensive” to make wine using Petaluma grapes.

“The high-end winemakers are making wine from here, and now (vintners from) Napa are coming over,” he said. “That’s driving up the price.”

Keller said the story of the young AVA has gotten a warm reception across the country, giving wineries more confidence to adopt the Petaluma Gap on their labels.

The region is home to more than 80 vineyards, and over 50 wineries are producing Gap wines.

One of those is Rodney Strong Vineyards, a nationally recognized winery based in Healdsburg that produces a broad range of varietals.

Justin Seidenfeld, their director of winemaking, said Rodney Strong cultivates about 24 acres in the Petaluma Gap, producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from their Blue Wing vineyard.

As the last winery sited in the southwestern end of the AVA, Blue Wing is the closest of any Petaluma Gap vineyard to the San Pablo Bay.

Labels like Rodney Strong are featuring the Petaluma Gap more and more often now, giving customers in their tasting room an opportunity to learn more about the region, Seidenfeld said. It’s those experiences for locals and tourists alike that have allowed Petaluma’s reputation to grow.

“I think that adds a whole lot of intrigue and entices customers to ask questions,” he said, “and they always like the answer because Petaluma Gap has a lot of good things going for it.”

(Contact News Editor Yousef Baig at yousef.baig@arguscourier.com or 776-8461, and on Twitter @YousefBaig.)

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