Harvest Begins in the Santa Lucia Highlands
SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS KICKS OFF WINE GRAPE HARVEST
Growers Anticipate High Quality and Average Yields
Santa Lucia Highlands, Calif., August 21, 2025— The 2025 winegrape harvest officially began in the Santa Lucia Highlands on Thursday, August 21, as crews picked the first Pinot Noir clusters at Escolle Vineyard for Caraccioli Cellars’ sparkling wine.
Growers anticipate exceptional quality and average yields for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Escolle Vineyard and Caraccioli Cellars Manager Scott Caraccioli said they harvested four and a half tons of Pinot Noir clone 943, which came seven days later than 2024 and eight days earlier than 2023. “Overall, 2025 has been a cool growing year, which has led to great flavor concentration and stellar structure. All signs indicate that we’re set to have a great vintage for both still and sparkling wines,” Caraccioli said.
“I would classify this season in the Santa Lucia Highlands so far as a Goldilocks season," says Steve McIntyre, McIntyre Vineyards. "Everything's just been just right. We haven't had any extremes of temperature. We've been in the sweet spot of photosynthetic activity for the vines,” McIntyre said. “The crop is average, but it portends to have great quality because of the lack of extremes.”
Matthew Heil, director of fruit supply for Copper Cane, looks after 150 growers from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, including Las Alturas Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands. He credits cooler sea surface temperatures up and down the coast with the even temperatures in this vintage. “We're being given an absolute gift of a growing season. Everything's moving through nicely and evenly, and looks gorgeous. The marine layer has been consistent, keeping things nice and cool. Nighttime temperatures have also been mild, a little warmer than usual, so the vines are very metabolically active, which has moved things along,” Heil said. “If we get any kind of heat, this thing's really going to pop.”
Winemaker Adam Lee of Clarice Wine Company notes that despite low rainfall, only eight inches on average across the Santa Lucia Highlands this season, berry size is larger than last year in some vineyards. “It does seem like there's going to be a bit more weight out there than I anticipated, particularly in certain clones,” Lee said.
Conversely, Winemaker Marty Spate at Riboli Family Vineyards is expecting a lighter yield from their Doctor’s Vineyard in the SLH. “I think that's just indicative of the clones, the site, and the restrictive soil with the elevation. From Pommard to Calera to Mount Eden and some of the older plantings that date back to the 70s, we're seeing a very low two-and-a-half to two-and-a-quarter tons per acre,” Spate said.
The Santa Lucia Highlands AVA in Monterey County is a crown jewel of California’s coastal winegrowing, where generational farming families produce some of the state’s most awarded cool-climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. The appellation encompasses nearly 5,000 planted acres with 49 vineyards planted on the elevated, sloping alluvial terraces of the Santa Lucia Mountain range in the Salinas Valley, close to nearby Monterey Bay.
Don't miss our 2025 Harvest Recap Zoom on Thursday, November 20th.
