As harvest 2020 winds down, we asked a few of our winery and vineyard representatives to provide some of their thoughts on the vintage. Contributing to this article is Molly Scott, Director of Grower Relations, JUSTIN Vineyards & Winery; Jason Haas, Partner and General Manager, Tablas Creek Vineyard; and Randy Heinzen, President, Vineyard Professional Services, Inc.

How would you describe what the 2020 growing season was like for this vintage in terms of weather, bud break, flowering, etc? 

Tablas Creek Vineyard is in the western hills of Paso Robles and for us the first half of the growing season (through the end of July) was benign. There was a slightly late budbreak due to March/April rainfall, but no frost issues, and a slightly warmer than normal May and June. This was followed by a slightly cooler than normal July. Flowering happened under good conditions and vine health was excellent. Then, in August, it got hot. Both August and September were 20%+ warmer than average in degree days, with two separate weeks of record heat, one in mid-August and one in early September. The second heat spike was only broken by a thick atmospheric smoke layer, and we had on-and-off issues with smoke at the surface. Thankfully, the vines had enough resilience to hold up under the heat, though it felt like a near thing with some of our latest-ripening grapes.

What was timing like for this year’s harvest? Did it start early or late? If so, by how much vs. typical?

It started the last week of August, a few days earlier than our average, and finished the second week of October, about two weeks earlier than our average. That compression was driven by the fact that other than those smoke-overcast days in September, it stayed warm-to-hot. We had only six days between August 10 and October 9 fail to reach 85 degrees.

Please describe the overall quality and character of this year’s fruit.

At this point, things look good. Intense flavors and good color, at least as much as we can tell so far. Similar sugars and acids to 2019. No perceptible smoke taint.

How have your major varieties fared this year?

Everything seems good in terms of quality. In terms of quantity, the latest-ripening grapes (like Mourvèdre, Roussanne, Counoise, and Tannat) were all down for us by an average of about 10%, perhaps because they struggled in the heat for longer, saw more sunburn and raisining, etc. Earlier-ripening grapes were flat or slightly up in quantity, except Grenache and Grenache Blanc which were up by around one-third.

What size yield are you expecting this year vs. previous years? 

Our overall yields were up 7%. That’s a little deceptive, because most varieties were flat, except that Grenache and Grenache Blanc saw increased yields because they didn’t see the same issues with shatter that we saw in 2019. Overall, our yields were almost exactly at our 20-year average of non-frost years.

What impact did the pandemic have on harvest logistics?

We made some changes to increase the compartmentalization of our vineyard and cellar teams, more than we would have in a normal year. In part, because we knew we were not going to have our vineyard team help in the cellar, we added a third intern position. We implemented new masking and distancing protocols in both cellar and vineyard. But overall, we didn’t feel like harvest was significantly impacted by the pandemic.

Was harvest impacted by the recent wildfires? If yes, how so?

It really depended on where people were. The smoke that was at the surface in late August (from the fires in Monterey County) must have stopped harvest for anyone already picking (we were not yet), and I’m sure that there were vineyards that were impacted to some degree by smoke taint. But all the levels that we’ve heard of have been very low, and given the much larger issues that vineyards further north faced, I’m hearing that larger producers who were looking to back out of contracts earlier in the growing season came back in and snapped up any available grapes. I think, given the high quality of what we have seen so far, that Paso Robles will be a bright spot in the 2020 vintage in California.

Now that harvest is winding down. What are you and your crews most looking forward to?

What we’ll do after harvest? Naps for all!

How would you describe what the 2020 growing season was like for this vintage in terms of weather, bud break, flowering, etc?

2020 has proven to be an interesting season, to say the least. Weather up to mid-summer was pretty tame, everyone was so thrilled to escape any spring frosts. Then August came along and it got hot. We had multiple record-breaking heat stretches (mid-august, early September, and recently in early October). There were some reports of fruit suffering some raisining and dehydration in select vineyards around the AVA. For JUSTIN, we greatly depend upon good canopy management, with supplemental irrigation tools and shade cloth to keep the fruit in sound condition until picking.

What was timing like for this year’s harvest? Did it start early or late? If so, by how much vs. typical?

Harvest began August 24 with Sauvignon Blanc and at the time of this writing, we are still harvesting. It’s likely to continue through the first week of November. It has been amazing and concerning in some respects when you realize you are picking a block two weeks earlier than expected. From a logistics perspective, it’s great but realizing that the maturation time was accelerated dramatically by the heat waves has us hopeful that we will achieve the same quality as previous vintages.

Please describe the overall quality and character of this year’s fruit.

I agree with Jason’s contribution, there is some great flavor development and very little to no pyrazine issues like growers have had to deal with in the past on cooler years. Coming off 2019’s high yielding crop, growers put in extensive effort in vine balance and managing canopies that I think they are some of the best I have ever seen. I would say perhaps acids are a little higher this year, which is a good thing. We are just starting to see some lots with some measured smoke taint present that we will retest and continue to evaluate but likely not use.

How have your major varieties fared this year?

I would like to share some feedback on Cabernet Sauvignon. It appears that vines older than 15 years really struggled through the heat waves and easily lost 15-20% of their crop. Overall, no matter the variety or vine age, I would say within the past two weeks, crops are down about 10% unfortunately due to raisining not shatter or other common events.

What impact did the pandemic have on harvest logistics?

We are down full-time and seasonal employees (who are operationally based) due to childcare limitations and schooling from home. Adjusting cellar practices and like Jason said, built ‘pod/teams’ to reduce mixing of staff and practices. We are serious about our protocols, with masks required as soon as you get out of your car, temperature checks, sanitizer stations, and communal break spaces are outdoors with individual tables/chairs six feet apart.

We stopped bottling back for a few weeks in March/April and that greatly impacted the schedule. We have been bottling all through harvest and tanks we typically have available for harvest are full still awaiting bottling. It’s just a constant dance.

Was harvest impacted by the recent wildfires? If yes, how so?

The short answer is, yes. The atmospheric smoke from the River Fire in Salinas, the Dolon Fire in Big Sur, and the Creek Fire in the Sierras had kept air quality very poor for a few weeks; some days so much so that it delayed ripening. We have done some extensive berry and micro-ferments (over 250 samples) to test for smoke taint across 10 of the 11 AVAs in Paso Robles. Each AVA had varying results from 0.5 ug/L to > 3.0 ug/L guaiacol within the same region. It depended upon varietal, brix at time sample was taken, topography, and the severity of the reoccurring waves of smoke.

Now that harvest is winding down. What are you and your crews most looking forward to?

In addition to sleep, I think we’ll open some bubbly and do that pre-harvest toast that we never got around to!

JUSTIN Photo credit: Pedro Martinez, Assistant Grower Representative

How would you describe what the 2020 growing season was like for this vintage in terms of weather, bud break, flowering, etc?

Despite receiving not quite average rainfall this winter, some of the later rains and the cool spring buoyed the vine’s early burst of growth. Even with the record-breaking heat as we entered harvest, most vineyards received little supplemental irrigation throughout the summer as our vine canopies matured and slowed without intervention. The heat waves impacted some varieties more than others and were particularly (and painfully) adept at highlighting disadvantageous row directions or aspects and weaker soil sections sprinkled inside large vineyard blocks.

What was timing like for this year’s harvest? Did it start early or late? If so, by how much vs. typical?

Harvests typically skew towards one of two paces: sprint or marathon. Vintage 2020 started a tad earlier and looks to end in early November. However, some varieties rushed towards maturity, making this harvest feel like a 4x400m relay: a long way to run, accomplished with a lot of aggressive sprinting.

Please describe the overall quality and character of this year’s fruit.

I think that analyzing the quality and character judgement is best left to the winemakers, however everything that I am seeing supports what my colleagues have provided. Some great fruit out there for 2020.

What size yield are you expecting this year vs. previous years? 

Yields were lower for the Bordeaux varieties, age and location dependent. We saw some ranches down 10% and others down over 30%. Other varieties like Grenache and Petite Sirah were above average.

What impact did the pandemic have on harvest logistics?

Something novel through this pandemic was the quarantining of entire families when one member tested positive for COVID. While in the past some folks have taken sick days to either heal or care for a family member, this year we had folks mandated to quarantine for two-plus weeks at a time when a family member was sick. Harvest logistics in the past have been flexible to enable the occasional covering of shifts, but this year we scrambled to cover positions that opened for weeks at a time. Thankfully, our personal experience included employees and families who all recovered, but contingency plans for losing key positions for long-duration were needed and utilized.

Was harvest impacted by the recent wildfires? If yes, how so?

 On at least three days in August, we sent all our field staff home given poor air quality conditions. Add that to the ‘firsts’ that 2020 gifted us.

Now that harvest is winding down. What are you and your crews most looking forward to?

At the conclusion of harvest, we are doing the usual: post-harvest BBQ over a Zoom call (using a smoke-less grill) and doing a team-building exercise by discussing politics on Election day. 😉