Harvest 2025 in the Santa Cruz Mountains was a lengthy and stressful one, punctuated by bouts of rain, followed by Indian summer warmth, then more sprinkles, or full-on downpours. Now, it’s pretty much a wrap, with some of the last fruit coming in on Nov. 5, right before the first really big rain of the season.
Viticulturist, Ken Swegles, who manages dozens of vineyards throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, including Ascona on Skyline Boulevard above Los Gatos, told us, “It basically rained during the entirety of harvest!” With vineyards spread out from the Los Altos Hills to down near Mt. Madonna, he was less likely to dodge raindrops, as harvest began in September.
“This might be one of the better vintages, at least for some vineyards,” says Swegles. He’s particularly excited about the Ascona Vineyards chardonnay, chenin blanc, gamay noir, and pinot noir. “These were virtually perfect: great flavors and chemistry numbers!” He picked cabernet franc, sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon as the Nov. 5 storm bore down upon him.
(Drew Penner / Los Gatan)
Marty Mathis of Kathryn Kennedy, with whom we caught up at Premier Cruz, a Santa Cruz Mountains cabernet-centric event held on November 1 at the Lexington Vineyards and Winery, told us that all the cabernet sauvignon had been harvested a few days earlier under ideal Indian summer conditions. “Vintage 2025 will be remembered as an extremely cool summer,” says Mathis, whose vineyard in Saratoga was planted by his mother, for whom the label is named. “Probably not since 1980 has there been so much fog and cool daytime temperatures,” says Mathis. “Typically, the coolest vintages are the best vintages in the location of Kathryn Kennedy Estate in Saratoga.” Could bode well.
In Bonny Doon, fourth-generation winegrower, Ryan Beauregard, who farms four different estate vineyards, began harvest on Sept. 9. All hell broke loose on September 29 when the Bald Mountain chardonnay and Coast Grade pinot noir ripened at the same time. It was a scramble to find enough fermenting bins. He finished his last picks on Nov. 5, as the rains came down in earnest.
“We worked from dark to dark for the last three days,” Beauregard told me on Nov. 6. “This last wave was cabernet, zinfandel, and some merlot that I got from my friend John Bargetto.” His family and the Bargetto’s have been friends in the wine business for 80 years.
No matter how many times you go through the process, it doesn’t get any easier: Mother Nature and the whims of Human Nature tend to throw a monkey wrench in the best laid plans.
“This has honestly been the most difficult harvest of my life, for many reasons,” says Beauregard, who, at 50 years old, just completed his 27th harvest. “I almost consider myself an industry expert at this point,” he jokes. “Actually, I just feel like an expert in making bad decisions and seeing what happens!”
(Laura Ness / Los Gatan)
At Burrell School Vineyards on Summit Road, Dave Moulton just wrapped up his 32nd harvest. “All the grapes are in and fermentation is proceeding well!” he tells us, with a sigh of relief. The long cool summer had him wondering if the pinot noir would ever ripen. Chardonnay was first off, and it looked a magnificent crop. Then it was a long wait for the cabernet sauvignon, cab franc and merlot, which were picked at the end of October. They just completed bottling of 2023 cab franc and merlot, and 2024 cabernet sauvignon, freeing up barrel space for the 2025 wines.
In the hills of Saratoga, Jim Cargill of House Family Vineyards, who is also the president of the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers, sounded enthusiastic, having brought in all the fruit for the winery owned by his father-in-law, Dave House. “Not a big harvest, but the flavors are intense and I’m very excited about the wines,” he said. House was pouring selections of his eponymous wines, accompanied by the awesome food prepared for the event by Oak & Rye, including cheese stuffed grilled mushrooms which proved awesome with aged mountain cabs.
Silver Mountain’s Jerold O’Brien should be sipping a well-deserved single malt while watching the sun go down over the autumnal colors of his mountain eyrie. Instead, when I spoke with him at Premier Cruz, he was still waiting for fruit to come in from a vineyard in Woodside that he inherited, courtesy of his recent purchase of Woodside Vineyards from his longtime friend, Bob Mullen. Why he would take on such a project when he already has his own label, plus a busy custom crush operation, is something one could only appreciate if you shared a bond with a compadre that transcends logic. While O’Brien’s estate fruit came off weeks ago, courtesy of its elevation and warmer climate, the Woodside fruit, on the eastern side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, struggles to ripen in a cool year like this one. The sun goes down behind the mountain at 3:30pm or so beginning mid-September and the vines start to shut down. Growing grapes is not for sissies.
Viticulture consultant, Prudy Foxx of Foxx Viticulture, says, “I think the chemistry was far more balanced with lower sugars and better acid this year: much more European style. Ironically, all the wine makers that used to demand low sugar, wanted higher sugar this year.” She bemoans the impact of fads on winemaker behavior, as chasing consumer demand is always a dicey proposition.
Bigger challenges loom
While harvest is always the craziest and most stressful time of the year for winegrowers, it pales in comparison to the changes that are facing the overall wine industry. Boomers are buying less, due to health reasons (doctors telling them to drink less red wine) and their cellars are full, while younger consumers have too many choices besides wines to tempt them. Wine consumption is down across the board, and many winemakers bought far less fruit for 2025, many abruptly canceling contracts mid-season.
Why? During the pandemic, wineries who pivoted to curbside pickup, saw a big boom in business. Those with tasting rooms and loyal wine clubs did very well, as tasting outside was one of the few pleasurable activities allowed. Club enrollment increased and many wineries increased production to meet a demand they thought was long-term. Restaurants sold off wine inventories to eager collectors, and consumers were spending money on online Zoom wine tastings, and cooking classes, often paired with wine. This opportunistic marketing paid off, wineries increased grape contracts, with some even putting more vines in the ground. Visits to tasting rooms increased, more exclusive experiences were created, prices went up and it seemed like the Roaring Twenties all over again. Warning bells should have been going off, but human nature is seemingly resistant to reality.
Bon voyage!
Things were about to change. As soon as things began to open up with the ready availability of vaccines and the return to normal, consumers, denied the opportunity to travel during the pandemic, returned to cruising and overseas tours with a vengeance. Winery visits started to decline even as hotel and restaurant prices started to skyrocket.
The rise of the “sober curious” movement and “Dry January,” started driving the production of low and no alcohol wines and mocktails, and the writing was on the wall.
Now, thousands of acres of vines have been pulled. Inventories are stacking up, and more wineries and vineyards are on the market than at any time in the past.
Most of the boutique wineries like those in the Santa Cruz Mountains have fairly small productions, but inventories are stacking up at the larger ones. The competition is fiercer than ever for shelf space. Coupled with changes in consumer buying habits, tastes and preferences, it points to a big shakeout ahead.
More on that next time.
Six picks from Premier Cruz
2010 House Family Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon – Showing classic aromas of iron filings, graphite, earthy autumnal leaves and tobacco, the soft palate reveals delightful notes of mushroom and notes of tea. This would be great with chanterelle and butternut squash risotto. This wine is available in 750ml and magnum formats. The 2011 version of this wine is available in the rare double magnum format.
2019 House Family Block 10 Cabernet Sauvignon – If you prefer a more fruit-forward and fleshy wine, the juicy black and red baked pie fruits, sweet earth, dried meats and savory herbs of the this 2019 cabernet sauvignon from House Family Vineyards will appeal. (Block 10 is one of their oldest plantings, known for forest and bay notes). Pair with a well-aged ribeye from Carnico in Los Gatos. $85 housefamilyvineyards.com
2002 Kings Mountain Vineyards Meritage – A stunning combination of 52% cab sauv, 28% cab franc, 14% merlot, 5% petit verdot and 1% malbec, this is one of the cellar gems from a one-acre vineyard on the east side of Skyline. At once elegant and darkly mysterious, it has aromas of cedar, sage, leather and cherry tobacco lead to cassis, allspice and chocolate covered blueberries. Pair with rosemary prime rib or juniper encrusted elk chops. Retail, $120; holiday price, $88 (with code “Holiday25for20205”). kingsmountainvineyards.com
2014 Silver Mountain “Alloy” – Jerold O’Brien’s flagship “Alloy”wine is a classic Bordeaux-style blend, and the warmth of this drought vintage shows through in the sweet cherry, pipe tobacco and cocoa nibs that meld nicely with fragrant herbs like tarragon, rosemary and basil. His 2013 Alloy was named Best Bordeaux in CA at 2022 CA State Fair, and was Best of Class at the 2023 East Meets West Competition. Pappardelle bolognese, boar sausage lasagna or even pot roast with garlic and parsley mashed potatoes would be awesome pairings. $44 silvermtn.orderport.net
2021 Storrs Bates Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon – This wine is a glorious representation of a stunning vineyard on Redwood Retreat Road that has developed a reputation for producing some of the most stoically graceful Cabs in existence. Bates Ranch has consistently produced age-worthy wines with superb tannin structure, often taking years to soften. This is ready to please. Captivating from the first whiff of black cherry and cedar, the silky palate is generous with cassis, cranberry, and hints of dark chocolate. This is your classic prime rib roast companion. $70 storrswine.orderport.net
2021 Wrights Station Cabernet Franc, Lago Lomita Vineyards – From a vineyard that faces southwest overlooking the Monterey Bay, comes this lushly textured yet nicely piney cab franc, marrying dark, ripe fruit with that spruce-like greenery that makes cab franc so intriguing. This would be awesome seared spiced duck breast over chestnut puree and polenta, or game hens with cornbread and chestnut stuffing. The 2018 version of this wine is lean and spicy green, and would be plumb perfect with chile verde or chile rellenos. $54 store.nexternal.com/wrights
