2024 Sonoma Vintage

Sonoma County Winegrowers put the 2024 vintage down to the weather, and described a season in three clear movements. The year started with a cool spring. During the peak of growing season it warmed up, with long periods of hot weather. Then, as harvest approached, mild daytime temperatures and cool nights arrived, which allowed the grapes to hold high acids while reaching outstanding quality. The decisive absence was rain. The 2024 harvest carried no rain threats, a marked contrast with 2023, when growers dealt with multiple rain events. Bret Munselle of Munselle Vineyards in Alexander Valley made the comparison directly, noting that 2024 was much different from the prior year when his estate experienced five rain events during harvest. Picking began early to mid August for most growers, which Sonoma County Winegrowers framed as a return to normal after the late start of 2023. Munselle started with sparkling grapes on August 8, then took a week off before moving to still wines. Tyler Klick of Redwood Empire Vineyard Management, who farms across the county, began on August 17 and finished on October 18. Steve Dutton of Dutton Ranch, farming primarily in Russian River Valley and Green Valley, started about mid August with a few small picks and was fully ramped up within a week, finishing by mid October. Once it started, the season moved fast. The harvest ran a week to two weeks shorter than most, wrapping up before the end of October, and Munselle's usual ten weeks compressed into nine. On volume, Sonoma County Winegrowers reported that tonnage varied by grape variety and AVA. Klick called the crop slightly above average in quantity overall, with a few categories including Cabernet a little light for his sites.

• A cool spring gave way to long periods of hot weather at the peak of growing season, then mild days and cool nights as harvest approached
• Mild daytime temperatures and cool nights near harvest let the grapes maintain high acids
• No rain threats during the 2024 harvest, against multiple rain events in 2023 and five at Munselle Vineyards alone
• Harvest began early to mid August, a return to normal after the late 2023 start, and finished before the end of October
• Redwood Empire Vineyard Management ran August 17 to October 18 and called quantity slightly above average with Cabernet a little light

The most striking thing about 2024 in Sonoma was how little intervention it required. Jim Rickards, owner of J. Rickards Winery in Alexander Valley, said everything went like clockwork, with all the grapes arriving in an orderly fashion and without a lot of hot days pushing things along. He reported that as the grapes ripened the vines were so well balanced between fruit load and leaf area that the estate did very little fruit drop or canopy management, and that the laboratory juice panels came in near perfect for Brix, pH and grape nutrition. That combination of even ripening and minimal correction is the practical signature of the vintage, and it is why so much of the commentary from the county reads as relief rather than drama.

• J. Rickards Winery reported very little fruit drop or canopy management was needed because vines were well balanced between fruit load and leaf area
• Laboratory juice panels at J. Rickards came in near perfect for Brix, pH and grape nutrition
• Grapes arrived in an orderly fashion without a lot of hot days pushing ripening, according to Rickards
• Growers faced little to no pressure to pick until fruit was showing its best flavors and acidity

Sonoma County Winegrowers gathered assessments from growers across the region, and the tone was consistent. Rickards in Alexander Valley called 2024 one of the best quality vintages he could think of in his past 48 years. Munselle, also in Alexander Valley, described a nine-week harvest that was much different from the rain-plagued prior year. Steve Dutton of Dutton Ranch called the harvest fast and compact and said the quality was going to be outstanding after a great season throughout the year. Tyler Klick, who farms throughout Sonoma County, said the season started off cool like 2023 but the summer really warmed up and finished warm, which enabled an early finish. For Taylor Serres, company director at Serres Ranch in Sonoma Valley, 2024 was memorable for other reasons: she had a baby at the beginning of harvest and balanced the two.

• Alexander Valley: Jim Rickards called it one of the best quality vintages in 48 years
• Russian River Valley and Green Valley: Steve Dutton of Dutton Ranch reported a fast, compact harvest finished by mid October with outstanding quality
• County-wide: Tyler Klick noted the season started cool like 2023 but warmed and finished warm, enabling an early harvest
• Sonoma County Winegrowers produced a bilingual harvest recap video featuring farmers and vineyard employees from across the county

Sonoma County Winegrowers built its 2024 recap around vineyard crews as much as growers, and the perspective is worth keeping. Miguel Carmona, a 38-year employee at Dutton Ranch, described the movement of harvest and said nine or ten hours fly by because there is so much excitement getting things done. Maribel Morales, a five-year employee at Munselle Vineyards, called harvest a lot of adrenaline and very fun, with plenty of friendly competition. As the vineyards turned dormant, Kruse noted that most farmers were hosting celebratory lunches and parties for their vineyard employees and crews before pruning season starts the cycle over again.

• Miguel Carmona of Dutton Ranch, a 38-year employee, described the pace and excitement of a compressed harvest
• Maribel Morales of Munselle Vineyards described harvest as adrenaline-driven with friendly competition among crews
• Kruse reported growers hosting celebratory lunches and parties for vineyard crews as the vines went dormant
• Sonoma County Winegrowers publishes its harvest recap as a bilingual video