It is autumn in America and that means several things; football, leaves falling, cooler weather and in the world of wine, it is harvest time.  Here is what some of the winemakers in the different regions of California are saying about this years harvest.  Looks like 2012 is going to be a nice vintage!

2012 Harvest Update

Napa Valley: "Conditions are perfect.  If you could review a year, this would be 100 pts.   Warm but not hot days have been ripening the fruit wonderfully." --Claus Janzen, Bacio Divino Cellars Sonoma Valley: “Harvest is full steam ahead!  It is looking like a banner year.  We have brought in all of our Sauvignon Blanc, Grenache, Muscat, and one vineyard of Zinfandel and Russian River Pinot.  The flavors are beautiful and the crop load is full.” --Erik Miller, Kokomo Winery Santa Cruz Mountains: “A wonderful year and the growing conditions have been about as close to ideal as possible and the vines show it.  We are pretty excited about what the fruit tastes like in the vineyard. The crop is full and the fruit is clean.“ --John Bargetto, Bargetto Family Estate, Celebrating their 80th Harvest! Santa Barbara and Central Coast: “2012 is shaping up to be one of the best harvests in the last 4-5 years.  It’s been warmer than most years, but not too hot.  It’s a nice, even crop.  There are a lot of grapes out there, and they are good quality.” --Christian Garvin, Oreana Winery Lodi (Northern California):  “Winter and spring were quite dry and mild, with bud-break being about a week early. The summer months were textbook perfect with a few days over 100 degrees and typically cool evening breezes. The month of September was much warmer than normal, accelerating the ripening of red grapes still on the vine.” --Mark Fedorchak, Valley Wine Works