With nearly all of the region’s grapes off the vine, growers in the Paso Robles AVA are asking each other: “What the hell happened?”

Some vineyards were a total loss, and most yields in the region were off by 50% or more. Growers who suffered a 30% loss are considering themselves lucky in a year that at first seemed merely earlier than normal but proved instead to be dramatically light.

At a Sept. 30 grower seminar organized by the Independent Grape Growers of the Paso Robles Area (IGGPRA), Dr. Lowell Zelinski, founder of Precision Ag Consulting and the group’s vice president, delivered a presentation about how things went so wrong this year. He said he learned of one vineyard written off as a total loss in August, while some vineyard blocks normally known to produce as much as 20 tons per acre ended up yielding just 2 tons. 

The losses do not appear to be limited to any particular variety, although Zelinski described Syrah as “mostly devastated,” and Cabernet Sauvignon could be much reduced as well.

Years of drought, which has exacerbated salt accumulation in the root zone, as well as a freak storm in July that dropped 3-4 inches of rain and hail in mid-June all played a role in the reduced yields. Yet even with all those factors, Zelinski said he expected some vineyards to enjoy good yields this year. Instead, the reduced yields appear to be the normal throughout the region.