Ciatti California Report - September 2024

Crop appears lighter in some areas; grape market activity still limited

Following an easing of heat levels in mid-August, 100-105°F temperatures returned to some areas of California toward the end of the month and into the first week of September. Reports of the hottest summer on record – for the western US as well as the Northern Hemisphere as a whole – obscure a more nuanced picture at the local level: While heat has been consistently intense in California’s southern Interior, Coastal areas have tended to avoid the worst extremes and, in some cases, even experienced cooler-than-average August temperatures. It has, in general, been a good growing year.

The picking timetable is well in advance of last year – when it was delayed by unusually mild conditions – and close to normal, with harvesting of the early whites getting started in the Interior by mid-July and in the Coast at the beginning of August. The return of higher temperatures has likely quickened the pace somewhat: Brix levels are now approaching their optimum even on some later-season reds and, as such, varietal readiness may coincide, potentially leading to processing bottlenecks. We are yet to hear of any such issues, however, and crush capacity in general appears to be more than adequate.