Except for any vineyards where possible smoke taint from wildfires is a concern, the quality of this year’s Central Coast grape crop is good, Crossland says.

“Compared to last year’s very small crop, the clusters this year are filled out better with more shouldering and more berries per cluster.”

What’s more, after sitting on the sidelines waiting to get a better idea of the size of this year’s crop, buyers are back on the phones, securing supplies for their wineries and bidding up grape prices, he adds.

Vineyards haven’t been under any unusual pressure from such pests as leafhoppers and spider mites this year, Crossland notes. However, despite this season’s heat spells, growers saw more outbreaks of powdery mildew than usual.

A long-time advocate of sustainable farming practices, Crossland is a member of the non-profit Vineyard Team, a grower group dedicated to sustainable winegrowing, and helped write the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices developed by the Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) to promote environmental stewardship and social responsibility in the California wine industry.

Interest by growers in farming in a more economically and environmentally sustainable way has continued to increase over the past few years, Crossland says. This includes more  participation in the Vineyard Team’s  Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certification Program  and the  Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW-Certified) offered by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance.

These growers are also focusing more attention on their human resources, a key component of sustainable farming, he adds. “With the declining number of farm workers, growers are realizing the value of developing the type of relationships needed to keep these workers,” he says. “So they’re showing their workers greater respect and providing them the training they need to work safely and the conditions, including such basics as plenty of water, shade and adjusting schedules to avoid working in extremely hot temperatures, needed to protect their health.”