2023 Brought Good News to California Wine Grape Growers

Despite initial uncertainties due to stormy weather leading to a delayed harvest, California wine grape growers are celebrating the end to a successful year in 2023. Gino DiCaro from the Wine Institute provides an overview of the thriving wine grape growing industry in the Golden State.

“It really has turned into kind of that rare year of both a good yield of wine grapes as well as quality of those wine grapes. It's just, um, up and down the state from San Diego all the way up to Mendocino. Basically, every wine region we have talked to to generate this report has indicated that it's just an exceptional year for exquisite flavors, really, really vibrant acidity and a remarkable balance in those wines. There was a little bit concern with how the weather went down over the past 10 months but, you know, abundant rainfall and the cooler summer and spring just created ideal ripening, uh, conditions for these grapes and while the harvest in fact did turn out to be about, depending on the region, 2 weeks to a month late, I should say later than usual, later than average. It's just, uh, it's just turned into an exceptional year.

There’s hope that consumers will take note of this year’s harvest and look for California wine labeled with the year 2023 in the future.