“The crop was so light, so much shatter, that statewide the whole state was really down. The quality looks pretty good. I don't think it's going to be one of the most spectacular years like 97, 07, 23, but I think it's going to be a damn good vintage, probably a reserve year.”
Where Wine Takes You - A Paso Wine Podcast · Food & Beverage · October 2026
Context
Asked how the 2026 harvest went, the winemaker says volume was far below normal across California but is cautiously upbeat on quality, noting the wines still need time in barrel.
Transcript
Well, I didn't get it for you. It's for Audrey.
Yeah. Very loving of you. It's so cool. I wanted to kind of go around and talk to folks about how the 2026 harvest was. What can you tell me? What has Chris reported into you? What are you seeing? And what are the discussions you're having?
Well, the big thing was it was such a very small, you know, we normally bring in, like I said, about 500 ton, which gives us about in a normal year, 27,000 cases. This year we brought in just under 300 cases, a ton. The crop was so light, so much shatter that statewide, the whole state was really down. The quality looks pretty good. You have to wait until the wines have been in the barrel and settled down a little bit, gone off the leaves. But I'm encouraged by the quality. I don't think it's going to be one of the most spectacular years like 97, 07, 23, but I think it's going to be a damn good vintage, probably a reserve year.
You know, when you start hearing conversations in the beginning of harvest of what people are seeing, or I mean, shoot, we started having conversations in March when it was so warm and later on with the shatter and the wind and there was so much going on. When do you feel in the year you can really…
Well, this year, I mean, it was so crazy. I've been here making wine, growing grapes since 73. And this is the earliest harvest I've ever experienced by far. And every time we've had, and normally we're still harvesting around Thanksgiving. We've been done for over a week now. I mean, we're done…
Wow. Is this something that you think you're going to start to see normally? Or do you think all of this is so cyclical, who knows what is to be expected later on?
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