A look at harvest season for El Dorado County winemakers

EL DORADO COUNTY - After a pandemic, a catastrophic fire and severe weather events, El Dorado County winemakers said they finally see a light at the end of the tunnel for the harvest season.

"The last couple of years have been interesting to say the least," said Ryan Wright, a winemaker at Sierra Vista Vineyards and Winery.

Wright said the pandemic in 2020, the Caldor Fire in 2021 and an extreme frost followed by a heat dome in 2022 made the last few years not so great for growing grapes.

"Luckily, 2023, this last harvest was beautiful, and 2024 is shaping up much the same way," Wright said.

He said they had bud break late this year, which means the onset of ripening will happen later this year with cooler temperatures.

"So you're going to have an elongated ripening season where you can attain acidity and all the fruit esters that you can sometimes lose in a vineyard when you have too much heat," Wright said.

Eric Hays, owner and winemaker for Chateau Davell Winery, said he has similar hopes for 2024.

"It was almost like Mother Nature was saying 'I'm sorry,' " Hays said.

He said they've had good growth so far and has even had to go in and thin some out to allow sunshine and air to hit the grapes.

"I've had to do it early this year, earlier than I've ever had to do it. We could barely walk through some of the rows," Hays said.

However, Hays said he is still feeling the aftermath of losing his crops to the Caldor Fire.

"We're usually about 2-3 years out with our red wine, especially. So now that I'm running out of the '19s and '20s, I don't have the '21s. So we're having to jump to '22," Hays said.

Although both winemakers are hopeful for this season, they said Mother Nature is the real determining factor as we head into the rest of summer.