Mother Nature certainly put on a show in 2019. The season was bookended by heavy rains and wildfire—and while neither negatively impacted our vineyards or wines, they branded the vintage as one we’ll never forget. Despite the twists and turns, we’re very excited about the 2019 chardonnay.

Winter brought record-breaking rainfall, which delayed bud break into late March and early April. The later bud break and cool temperatures put us on track for a normal start time for harvest well into September rather than the August starts we experienced during the drought years. The biggest surprise early in the growing season was the two inches of rainfall we received in early May—a rare occurrence in Northern California. Fortunately, many vineyards had not begun flowering due to the cool spring, so the rain did not significantly affect yields. With average temperatures throughout the summer, the grapes progressed nicely