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KENDALL-JACKSON 2006 HARVEST REPORT
SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA--(September 13, 2006)--As California’s 2006 grape harvest
began in earnest this week, many North Coast grape growers were still scratching
their heads and trying to make sense of July’s dire predictions of global
warming.
As if summoned by Al Gore himself, an inconvenient and deadly July heat wave
spread across the western United States including California’s Wine Country,
wilting humans and plants alike. On the exact day the heat kicked into high
gear, front pages of virtually every major daily newspaper foretold a tale that
Napa and Sonoma’s premium wine grape industry would become burnt toast in a
hundred years if global warming was left unchecked.
"We take these studies of global warming very seriously," said Randy Ullom,
Kendall-Jackson’s Winemaster. "I’d love to speculate on what the future holds,
but at the moment we have trucks loaded with grapes headed to our wineries and,
by all early appearances, it’s another stellar year in terms of ripeness,
quality and quantity."
Indeed, while the weather experts argued over global warming, a substantial 2006
grape harvest was in progress. The State of California is expecting its wine
grape harvest to be smaller than last year’s record, but nevertheless still
large in terms of tonnage--3.2 million tons. In general terms, the overall
harvest across the coastal regions of California is being considered "normal,"
or "slightly less than normal," by Kendall-Jackson winemakers and vineyard
managers.
The global warming study, released by Purdue University through the National
Academy of Sciences, purports to show through a series of complicated computer
models, that the North Coast’s premium wine industry is extremely vulnerable to
the effects of global warming and will not stand up to multiple weeks of
predicted 95-degree weather. In other words, the cool coast could end up baking
in the heat like California’s interior Central Valley region.
"Weather computer models have a poor track record," quipped one unruffled Sonoma
County grape farmer after hearing about the study. "The last time I checked, the
Pacific Ocean is still a major cooling influence and forecasters still don’t
know what the weather is going to be next Sunday, let alone 100 years from now."
The prolonged July heat had little effect on California’s coastal grapes even
though wine regions such as Napa Valley’s Calistoga and Sonoma County’s
Healdsburg recorded multiple days at 115 degrees. Most of California’s generally
cool coastal wine regions logged a record three weeks straight of 90 degree-plus
days. By August, the coastal fog returned, helping to slow the grape maturity
process to a more normal pace.
The big news in 2006 at Kendall-Jackson, however, was not the weather or the
harvest, but a series of focused vineyard acquisitions and an estate grape
planting strategy to support its multiple tiers of wine--Vintner’s Reserve,
Grand Reserve and Highland Estates.
Over the past 18 months, Kendall-Jackson has acquired and/or planted a
substantial number of new coastal vineyards. Located primarily in the mountains
above Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, the ridges of Mendocino County’s
Anderson Valley, and Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco bench, these new vineyard
plantings secure and strengthen Kendall-Jackson’s Estate Grown position in the
marketplace.
With the 2004 vintage, Kendall-Jackson’s Vintner’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
and Merlot join America’s popular Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay in featuring
"Jackson Estates Grown" on the front label. By owning and controlling the grape
sources, Kendall-Jackson winemakers are able, through precision farming methods,
to ensure the consistent quality of each bottle.
To learn more about Kendall-Jackson’s wines, go to kj.com.
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Kendall-Jackson farms grapes in five major California cool coastal wine regions.
The climate and harvest conditions on the Central Coast are vastly different
from the climate conditions on the North Coast. To avoid generalizations about
the harvest, comments are from vineyard managers, region-by-region:
Napa Valley: "We managed to make it through another rainy winter. A cool spring
followed by more rain pushed our normal harvest schedule back by about ten days.
The Cabernet Sauvignon displayed vigorous growth again this year due to the high
moisture levels in the soil. The warm days and cool nights of July and August
brought us back to a slightly normal harvest schedule. We expect to be
harvesting grapes through the end of October."--Mariano Navarro, Vineyard
Manager
Sonoma County/Russian River: "Pinot Noir crop levels from the Russian River
Valley and Shiloh ranches are right on target * up slightly from last year.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir brix levels are running neck and neck this year, with
the crop expected to come in about two weeks late. 2006 will be an excellent
year for Russian River and Sonoma Coast grapes."--Hector Bedolla, Vineyard
Manager
Sonoma County/Alexander Mountain Estate: "In the terraced vineyards of Alexander
Mountain Estate, about 1,800 feet above the Alexander Valley floor, climate
conditions vary block to block. Overall, the grape berries are very small, with
concentrated fruit flavors. The crop tonnage at Kendall-Jackson’s Hawkeye
Mountain Estate is average in size. Because of the rugged soils and cool
climate, we won’t begin to harvest Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon until the end
of September or early October."--Tony Viramontes, Vineyard Manager
Sonoma County/Bennett Valley: "Bennett Valley, one of Sonoma County’s newest
AVAs, had near perfect weather during the late spring. Dry, warm days aided the
bloom and set. Kendall-Jackson’s Taylor Peak Estate Merlot blocks are producing
an ‘average to heavy’ crop this year. We expect to finish harvest by the end of
October."--Brandon Axell, Vineyard Manager
Mendocino County: "We are in the process of adding nearly 250 acres of new
Pinot Noir vineyards on the Jackson Ridge property above Boonville. Farming on
the top of mountains and ridges is always a risky proposition this close to the
Pacific Ocean, but this year, conditions worked in our favor. We expect to be
picking the Philo and Grizz Ridge grapes by mid-October." --Dennis Winchester,
Vineyard Manager
Monterey County: "The planting of our new 450-acre Panorama Vineyard in the
Arroyo Seco appellation is nearly complete. Cool evenings and warm days were the
norm during September. We’ll begin picking the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay by
late-September and into early October."--Bill Hammond, Director of Vineyard
Operations
Santa Barbara County: "The grape crop in the Los Alamos region of Santa Barbara
is healthy this year. The 2006 harvest will really kick into gear by the end of
September. We have heavy morning fog that gives way to sun and heat by noon.
This weather pattern provides the perfect conditions for ripeness and maturity."
--Grant Cremers, Director of Vineyard Operations
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