North Bay Business Journal

Imagine a year in which the San Francisco Giants don’t look that great, but to everyone’s surprise, they clinch their division, make it to the World Series — and win. Imagine that in the very same year the 49ers look pathetic then somehow get better, win their league and finally make it to the Super Bowl — and almost win. Combine all that baseball and football excitement, and you’d have the runup to the 2012 winegrape harvest Super World Bowl.

Winemakers often associate low yields with higher quality, but it doesn’t always work that way. The bounty of 2012, in contrast to that of 2005, came after two light harvests and when consumer demand was starting to revive. Most wineries were delighted to get the extra volume.

“Wow!” is just one of the superlatives local wine industry leaders used to describe the 2012 winegrape harvest after two difficult years for growers. Other adjectives found in wine trade journals include “ideal, excellent, outstanding, fantastic, amazing, concentrated, balanced and bright.”

A North Coast winegrape season that was not too hot, too cold or too wet combined with steady demand for grapes and wine following two short crops led to a rare conjunction in recent years, possibly the most tonnage since the 2005 peak year and a number of wineries eager to find room to buy as much as they could.

More than half the 2012 North Coast winegrape crop is off the vine and most of the rest is expected to be arriving at wineries by early November.

Many North Coast growers and wineries were surprised to find the crops were much bigger than expected around the beginning of the season.