01.19.2017
Wineries Welcome Rain Despite Drawbacks
Soaked vineyards, roadblocks and communications outages
by Jane Firstenfeld
Standing water remains after storms pass through the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, Calif. Photo:
Merriam Vineyards
San Rafael, Calif.—After enduring half a decade of drought, vineyards in Northern California
were drenched in the past month, but all that rain delivered problems as well. The Russian River
Valley historically has experienced disaster-level floods; last week, local TV stations broadcast
shots of residents kayaking inside their own homes. From Balletto Vineyards & Winery in Santa
Rosa (Sonoma County), Calif., brand ambassador Nick Frey commented that even a week after
the early January storm, winery customers were still calling to see if Balletto was open. An
emergency alert advising people to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel was broadcast on
smartphones for several days, further deterring visitors. Most employees were able to get to
work, but some residing in western Sonoma County encountered five-hour commutes, and power
outages lasting two days made communication difficult. Most of the water has receded, and the
vineyards are doing OK, John Balletto said, but although pruning season is in full swing, some
areas are still flooded and cannot be pruned for at least two to three weeks. “We know that a lot
of rain helps leach out the salts in the soil, and waters down deep,” he said. “The month of May
will predict the crop when all vineyards are in bloom.” Operating since 2001, 22,000-case
Balletto farms 600 acres in the Russian River Valley. Although Balletto has ponds to collect
treasured rainwater, he said this mercifully wet season sends a good lesson that still more
storage is needed, so all the water doesn’t end up in the Pacific Ocean. Nancy Woods at 3,000case Merriam Vineyards in Healdsburg, Calif., said that it’s generally a slow time of year for
tasting rooms. But, she said, she had never previously closed the tasting room due to weather, as
she did Jan. 8. The tasting room has been open since 2009. Highway 101 was closed due to
flooding north of Windsor, and Los Amigos Road was closed at Limerick Lane. “Due to all the rain
this year, we have seen half as many customers as we did last year,” she said. On the borderline:
Los Carneros The Los Carneros AVA, which spans the southern parts of Sonoma and Napa
counties, provided mixed reviews of storm impact. According to the University of California
Cooperative Extension, total precipitation in the dual-county Carneros district during all of
January 2016 amounted to 6.3 inches. The same month in 2015 collected zero and in 2014, the
total was 0.06 inches. Rainfall in the first 17 days of January 2017 was 6.48 inches, with more
predicted by forecast models later this week. Located at the busy intersection of Highways 121
and 116, the tasting room at Schug Carneros Estate twice closed early, according to Crista
Johnson. The access road crosses a creek and floods out after heavy rains, especially when
combined with “king tides.” Overall tasting room visits were down relative to the previous year.
The 40,000-case winery has been in business since 1980 and farms 42 acres of its own vineyards.
Part of the intersection was closed for almost a week, making it virtually impossible for staff to
get to work, and all had to leave early one day to avoid being trapped on the property. The
tasting room was closed all day Jan. 8. Prior to the storm, “We had started to prune, paint
wounds and tie, and we had to take a breather,” Johnson said. As soon as the weather cleared, a
full crew was back in the vineyards. Lower blocks were saturated, but Schug installed drain tiles
many years ago, so vineyard blocks were drying out rapidly. Johnson is optimistic that
groundwater is being restored. The vineyards operate on two wells. Although Schug doesn’t have
ponds or reservoirs, several of its growers do, and they are now filled close to capacity. At
Bouchaine Vineyards on the Napa side of the AVA, Carla Bosco reported that employees had
been able to get to work, and there was no significant flooding. Its rolling hill topography
benefited the vineyards, quickly shuttling water out to San Pablo Bay without leaving large
bodies of standing water. Vineyard operations are proceeding on schedule on 104 acres of
vineyards at the 23,000-case winery. “We can only imagine that this weather will not only benefit
our drought-ridden state, but also our vineyards. A fully saturated soil profile at the beginning of
the growing season is a benefit to us, one we hope to have every year. We do have a reservoir
(full), which is fantastic as we are dry farming the vineyard as much as possible,” said Bouchaine
Vineyards assistant winemaker Erik Goodmanson. Alison Crowe, director of winemaking at
Garnet Vineyards, a brand of Plata Wine Partners founded in 2005 in American Canyon, also said
she was excited about the rain. Vineyard ponds are full, and soil profiles replenished. Recent
rains and those forecasted for later this week mean that Carneros growers are no longer worried
about reduced yields or quality. The dormant vineyards can tolerate flooding for as many as 20
days, Crowe observed, so a couple of days of “wet feet” haven’t affected the vines much or at all.
Good cover crops and erosion-control plans are helpful; vineyards are draining quickly, and she
is hopeful that crews can get back to work soon. At Liana Estates in Napa, traffic slowed during
the rainy week, and getting to work was a struggle for many employees, according to Emily
Byrne. Some could not clock in due to road closures in Marin and Sonoma counties, and the
commute took significantly longer for those who could find a route. The 25,000-case winery
farms 100 acres of vineyards. Rain washed away a large chunk of ground surrounding a barn
behind the tasting room. Further north in Napa Valley Two St. Helena wineries reported on their
status. Jeff Dreyfus, who manages Hall Wines’ tasting room there, said traffic was impacted by
the weather, and the tasting room closed early two days to ensure staff could get h ome safely.
Many of the crossroads between Highway 29 and the Silverado trail were closed due to flooding,
and parts of Highway 29 were down to a single lane of alternating traffic near Oakville. Founded
in 1995, Hall produces some 100,000 cases per year, farming 580 vineyard acres. Even during this
traditionally slow season, this year’s tasting room traffic was lower than expected. Situated on a
flood plain in the Rutherford Bench, Alpha Omega Winery was heavily affected by the rain,
according to Kelly Carter, communications director. The visitor parking lot flooded Jan. 8, and
the winery closed at 2 p.m. rather than 6 p.m.; a tasting terrace with mountain and vineyard
views had been drenched and closed earlier in the day. Founded in 2006, Alpha Omega produces
10,000 cases per year and farms 12 acres of Rutherford vineyards. Normally, 80% of its sales are
direct-to-consumer. Although Sauvignon Blanc vines sat in water, they were not damaged.
Winemaker/GM Jean Hoefliger likened the dormant season to a bear in hibernation. “His blood
system slows down to almost still to save energy and calorie consumption….The effects of the
rain are only on erosion, which has been tackled right after the previous harvest by winterizing
the vineyards by putting down hay, planting cover crop and channeling the water to prevent
erosion of any top soil.” Thus, rain has only the beneficial effect of replenishing reservoirs and
filling water tables. Sierra Nevada snowmelt will provide much-needed spring and summer
water. Reservoirs up at Lake Brassfield Estates in Lake County’s High Valley AVA reported light
flooding, but nothing serious: Employees had all made it safely to work. Vineyard manger
Jonathan Walters said pruning has just started, and the winery will hire more people earlier, to
make sure it stays ahead of schedule. All the reservoirs are full. “We shouldn’t have any water
issues this year,” Walters said.
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