California's 2025 Crop Season Kicks Off: Statewide Farming Updates
California Harvest of 2025: A Season of Encouragement and Challenges
California's wine regions are currently in the midst of their 2025 harvest, with a mix of encouraging news and challenges to navigate.
In the Santa Cruz Mountains, the fruit quality is particularly promising. High acids, restrained sugars, and well-lignified stems have made 2025 an exceptional year for whole-cluster fermentations. Fruit chemistry in Paso Robles is also encouraging, with acids holding and flavors concentrating in balance.
However, the season has not been without its strains. August brought a modest warm-up, slowing the ripening of grapes and keeping many sites a week or more behind last year's pace. This has been especially true for cooler, coastal vineyards like Horseshoe, which remain late with smaller clusters and lighter yields.
On the West Sonoma Coast, some wineries have begun picking Pinot Noir this week, but the bulk of the harvest is still to come. Inland and higher-elevation sites like Alpine and Skyline are progressing normally.
The 2025 harvest faces other strains, including oversupply and softer sales in the market. Labour shortages have also been a concern, with visa denials thinning the pool of overseas interns.
In Napa Valley, the summer has been largely even and cool, requiring careful canopy management to limit pyrazines in Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties. Winemaker Catherine Kistler of Occidental noted that the long, fog-laden summer required extra canopy management to counter the humidity of the persistent marine layer.
The Pickett Fire near Calistoga, still burning as of 2 September, has raised concerns about potential smoke taint in vineyards and wineries.
In Mendocino County, the pace has been slower, with Anderson Valley Pinot Noir not expected until the second or third week of September. Paso Robles, on the other hand, has had a 'benign year' with yields rebounding to normal levels.
Farmworkers are nervous and it shows, according to Derek Baljeu at Knights Bridge. Jasmine Hirsch, farming her family's vineyards in Cazadero, echoed the sentiment that the long, lovely period from start to veraison to now usually foretells high quality.
Kendall-Jackson Winery and Rodney Strong Vineyards in Sonoma County expect the harvest for their red grape varieties to start only in the first weekend of September or later. The first Sauvignon Blanc was brought in by Knights Bridge on 28 August, while Cabernet Sauvignon and other red varieties in Knights Valley are still waiting.
The region is behind the 2024 harvest but ahead of the long, drawn-out 2023 harvest. Derek Baljeu, winemaker at Knights Bridge in Sonoma County, described the 2025 vintage as a season that doesn't want to be rushed. The Santa Cruz Mountains season has been described as a 'yo-yo' by Jeff Brinkman, director of winemaking at Rhys.
Despite the challenges, the 2025 harvest in California's wine regions promises to be an interesting and exciting one, with high-quality grapes and the potential for exceptional wines.
