An unusually cold and foggy July marked one of the chilliest midsummers in decades around Sonoma, Napa and much of the Bay Area, leaving some growers apprehensive about potential delays.
Then came August, with a modest warm-up that was just enough to push grapes towards a slow, steady ripening, keeping many sites a week or more behind last year’s pace. The delay has been noted, though it is not yet worrisome.
Adding to the usual unease of harvest season, the Pickett Fire near Calistoga – still burning as of 2 September, though nearly 90% contained – has raised concerns about potential smoke taint, even as most vineyards and wineries escaped direct damage.
Beyond the fire zone, growers from north to south describe the vintage with cautious optimism: the signs point to real potential, but the consensus is that this is a year that demands patience, with the final chapter yet to be written.
Sonoma County
‘This season has carried a quieter tempo. Where 2024 was marked by early heat and an accelerated pace, 2025 felt like it kept its foot on the brake for much of summer. It’s a season that doesn’t want to be rushed,’ said Derek Baljeu, winemaker at Knights Bridge. The producer brought in the estate’s first Sauvignon Blanc on 28 August while Cabernet Sauvignon and other red varieties in Knights Valley still await.
On the West Sonoma Coast, some wineries began picking Pinot Noir this week, though the bulk of the harvest is still to come. What is slowly coming in, and what remains on the vines, looks promising.
Winemaker Catherine Kistler of Occidental said that the long, fog-laden summer required extra canopy management to counter the humidity of the persistent marine layer. She added however that the balance of the vines and quality of the grapes so far reminds her of 2023 – a remarkable vintage now being bottled and released – when extended, gentle ripening delivered ‘incredible intensity of flavour at low sugar levels’.
Jasmine Hirsch, farming her family’s vineyards in Cazadero, echoed the sentiment: ‘The long, lovely period from start to veraison to now usually foretells high quality.’
In other parts of Sonoma County, harvest is only just stirring. At Centennial Mountain, the first reds are now in tank, while Rodney Strong expects its first fruit from both the Russian River and Alexander Valley in the first week of September or so.
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