Quality dominates valley wine harvest

California's wine grape crop is down this year, but quality is predicted to be exceptional, thanks to Mother Nature delivering a mild summer.

That should mean some nice wines over the next few years, though perhaps not quite so many of the bargain bottles that consumers have enjoyed in recent years.

The harvest is down 10 percent to 20 percent around the state, with less of a drop in the San Joaquin Valley, said Chris Indelicato, president and chief executive officer at DFV Wines near Manteca, formerly Delicato.

The grapes tend to have less sugar than usual, meaning slightly less alcohol in the wine, but the quality overall is good, he said.

Rain caused some trouble, but the season went well for Silkwood Wines of Modesto, owner John Monnich said. The Stanislaus County-grown grapes have adequate sugar content and other needed traits, he said.

"All in all, we anticipate a really good wine out of it," he said.

Indelicato said he expects wine prices to be stable through the end of the year and to rise a little in 2012 because of higher grape costs.

He also is seeing new vineyards being planted, a change from the reduction in acreage that followed a recent glut.

"The wine industry is very healthy, and it continues to grow," he said.

The industry employs several thousand people in the Modesto area, by far the nation's largest producer by volume. The area is home to E.&J. Gallo Winery, Bronco Wine Co. and The Wine Group, whose holdings include the former Franzia winery near Ripon.

They have used their efficient methods and access to plenty of grapes to make popular wines for as little as $1.99 a bottle. Among them is Charles Shaw from Bronco, better-known as Two Buck Chuck.

These wineries also serve much of the market for $5 to $10 wines, notably Barefoot from Gallo, which has grown rapidly.

Around the state, grape growers shrugged off the wet, cool spring and have fared relatively well at harvest.

Without drastic temperature spikes that cause sugar levels to climb too quickly, clusters are spending more time developing flavor nuances on the vine.

While that could add up to a great vintage, some wines might be in short supply, especially lower-priced wines sold under store labels.

"The issue there is that there might not be as much wine left over to make $3.99 bottles," said Jason Haas of Paso Robles, past president of the Rhone Rangers board of directors. "There's always some left over that gets bought up cheap at the end. There may be less of that around."

A late cold front in June stunted development along the coast and covered newly emerging Sierra Nevada foothill grapes in snow. A winterlike storm this month threatened bunch rot on unripened clusters in some vineyards.

In between growers enjoyed a mild summer that was ideal for grape development. If the forecast dry weather remains for a few weeks, growers say the recent rains will invigorate vines and help with the steady ripening.

Bee staff writer John Holland can be reached at jholland@modbee.com or (209) 578-2385.