The Sonoma Table
Les Dames d’Escoffier Sonoma County
Newsletter August 2024
It’s Harvest Time in Wine Country!
Above: Cline Family Cellars, Petaluma Gap. Photo Credit - Megan Cline
Harvest kicked off the first week of August in the majority of the North Coast, the culmination of a lovely, stable growing season with long, warm days over the late spring and summer that accelerated ripening.
“I love this time of year,” noted Dame Rickey Trombetta of Trombetta Family Wines. “We are seeing lighter crops in both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir at Indindoli Vineyard in the Russian River Valley, while at our home vineyard, Trombetta Family (in Forestville), Pinot Noir is near normal. Everything has gone through veraison, and we have dropped the green fruit.”
She adds that her daughter, Trombetta winemaker Erica Stancliff, will most likely bring in her first fruit over the Labor Day weekend, and that the quality of the grapes looks “very good to excellent.”
Vintage 2024 is looking to be more of a back-to-normal year in terms of pick dates compared with last year’s unusually slow ripening timeline, which saw harvest pushed back late into fall, in many cases three to four weeks later than average.
Like 2023, this year saw a wet winter, with record rainfall through January and February. But 2024 also saw considerable heat during late June and early July, with weeks of soaring temperatures. Napa Valley broke records with two weeks of temperatures above 90 degrees F.
“The harvest season is underway and is looking wonderfully ‘normal,’” Dame Serena Lourie of Cartograph Wines described. “The last few years have seen odd patterns with varieties ripening out of sync throwing winemakers and wineries off as they plan tank for space. This year we are on track for a more drawn-out season and as expected Sauvignon Blanc is coming in first
and Pinot will follow soon.”
“We’re gearing up and putting a lot of miles on the truck out
and about sampling sugars,” she adds. “Crop loads are
balanced with some regional variation as is typical. There
are lots of valley bins flying up and down the roads, so the
big players are pulling fruit from warmer locations and
Sonoma County is just starting with sparkling and we’ll be
going full speed by mid-September. You hate to jinx yourself
by talking too soon but I think there is a lot of optimism in
the vineyards right now. For us this is the strange window
where you have cleared your schedules of everything for
harvest duties, but no grapes are ready.”
Dame Julie Schreiber, a consulting winemaker based in Sonoma County, said she thought the harvest was really early this year, so she looked back at the pick dates from the last eight years for Sauvignon Blanc from the same block and the same clone. In 2024, it was August 13; in 2023 it was September 1; in 2022 it was August 11.
(Below: Julie’s Sauvignon Blanc samples to test sugar levels before picking)
“I would say the fruit is maturing faster than in 2023 for many reasons including a lighter crop,” she concludes. “The flavors are there, and the seeds and stems are lignifying in a similar way to 2022. I think that’s due to the warmer days we have had over the summer. It looks like for the other varieties we will pick later in the year, the yields will be lighter than last year.”
The next fruit she’ll be looking at is Chardonnay and she likes the flavors that are developing. It’s making her optimistic for this vintage.
(Below: Russian River Valley Chardonnay)
Speaking of Chardonnay, Dame Susan Idell, Idell Family Vineyards, has already brought in a lot of hers for their sparkling program. “We are seeing large volumes of fruit as the Chardonnay from our Michael Mara Vineyard for sparkling was picked last week and is all in. The rest of the chard is looking beautiful and will be picked this week. Reds are looking gorgeous and will take their time. We are excited about quality and quantity.”
The Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association reports that in its area, harvest looks to be on target with historical vintages, if not slightly ahead. It won’t be a heavy crop year nor a short year, but the moderate temperatures forecasted from here on out are expected to make for tempered ripening and a quality vintage.
Dame Cheryl Quist, Executive Director, Petaluma Gap Winegrowers Alliance, adds, “In the Petaluma Gap American Viticultural Area (AVA) our consistent afternoon winds are keeping the vines cool and allowing for more complex flavors to develop over the longer growing season. We are blessed with the wind and look forward to harvest ramping up after Labor Day.”
Looking ahead, a brief warm-up is expected into Labor Day, with more moderate weather to follow. Here’s hoping for more of the same going forward and a drama-free harvest for all of our Dames.
And here is a list of fun Harvest Activities planned throughout the County - grape stomps, harvest parties, harvest food and wine pairings, and more! Get your weekends booked with wine-loads of fun!
—Written by Dame Virginie Boone
Member Spotlight: Dame Naomi Smith
It’s all about the bubbles for Dame Naomi Smith. While she has been working in the wine industry for 23 years, she has spent almost a decade focused solely on Champagne (lucky gal!). She holds the position of Vice President of Sales for Champagne Laurent-Perrier, one of the worlds most respected Champagne Houses with a history dating back to 1812. It is also the largest female owned and led winery in the region - appropriate for a Dame!
Because of her contributions to the Champagne industry, Naomi was formally knighted as a Dame Chevalier of L’Ordre Des Coteaux De Champagne! So Naomi is a double DAME!
Prior to Laurent-Perrier Naomi was a force up and down the West Coast representing prestigious importers, distributors and brands, such as the outstanding Petrus. As a result of her hard work and passion, she became a popular panelist at important festivals, including Pebble Beach Food & Wine, World of Pinot Noir, the International Pinot Noir Celebration and Big Sur Food & Wine.
As if this wasn’t enough to keep her busy, Naomi is also a well-respected instructor at the Cheese School of San Francisco and helped create the Seattle Cheese Festival and Seattle Artisan Food Festival.
Let’s learn a bit more about Naomi!
Where did you grow up?
Portland, OR
How’d you get into the wine industry? And how long have you worked in wine?
Like most folks, I started out in restaurants while going to college. I worked at a wonderful fine dining restaurant called South Park in Portland. David Holstrom, wine director, developed an incredible wine program and all of the best shifts went to the most wine knowledgeable staff. I fell in love with wine right away. While working at the restaurant, I would see wine reps come in to meet with our wine buyer. I thought that would be a good job while postponing grad school. It’s hard to believe that this year it will be 23 years in the wine business!
What are you currently working on at Laurent-Perrier?
As the Vice President of Sales, I manage our sales team for the US. We have an incredible team of seven regional managers and one national accounts manager. We are a small but mighty team!
What is your favorite thing about your job?
That is a tough question! I love our team, I love our wines and I love that I can be a mom and be an executive at an incredible company at the same time.
Tell us about the experience of getting knighted!
It was a magical evening hosted by legends in the Champagne industry including Fabrice Rosset former CEO of Deutz Champagne House. I represented Deutz as a sales rep and later as a Champagne supplier. I even served it at my wedding! He was the ambassador who knighted me, so it was a very special moment.
And how did cheese come about?
Growing up in Oregon, my grandparents had goats. My love for cheese just came naturally. I started out at Provvista Specialty Foods as a receptionist during college and learned a lot about cheese. I also met some of the top people in the cheese industry that I am still friends with today! I then moved to Seattle to work for Noble Wines as a sales rep. I was asked to help run the wine and beer garden for the Cheese Festival- yes, there used to be a huge Cheese Festival in Pike Place Market. I fell deeper in love with cheese. Since then, I have been teaching and leading panels on cheese and wine.
Have you found yourself being motivated to do more in your community – and if so, in what way?
Yes, I am very motivated to mentor people in the wine industry. I was fortunate enough to have several great women help me in my career; it is essential to support each other and most importantly get women into higher positions of leadership within the industry.
What do you like to do for fun?
Travel with my daughters! We just spent a couple weeks in Thailand in July.
How long have you been a Dame?
Three years.
What do you enjoy about being a Dame?
Being a part of a global organization that empowers and supports women in the food and beverage industry.
—Written by Dame Lisa Stavropoulos
Upcoming Events and Reminders
September 12: Julia’s Table, Catelli’s, 5pm-7pm, Geyserville
September 14: Pistachio Harvest Lunch with Sacramento Dame Georgeanne Brennan, Maison Porcella, Windsor TBD for more information!
September 21: Global Roots Sonoma, Green Music Center, Rohnert Park; 15% Dames Discount with code CartographWC courtesy of Dame Serena Lourie!
September 22: The Village Feast, Les Dames Sacramento Annual Fundraiser, 12-4pm, Davis
September 11th- Betsy Nachbaur
September 16th- Cristina Topham
September 19th- Doralice Handal
September 23rd- Whitney Reuling
“I think people who love to eat are always the best people.”