(SND) - California winemakers are toasting what many say is an excellent 2014 vintage, despite challenges such as an ongoing drought and an earthquake in wine country just as harvest season was gearing up. The USDA has forecast California’s 2014 wine harvest at 3.9 million tons, an 8% decrease from last year’s record crop. While it’s significantly smaller than 2013’s bumper harvest, the 2014 total is still expected to register as the third-largest winegrape crop on record for the Golden State.

California’s 2014 harvest season has also been remarkable for its early start, with some vintners calling it the earliest in more than a decade. Winemakers from across the state surveyed by the Wine Institute—including Trinchero, Michael David, Duckhorn, Wild Horse, Wente and Coppola—all reported very high quality across their vineyard holdings, raising expectations for California’s 2014 vintage wines.