(Wines&Vines) - California’s vast Central Coast AVA, which includes diverse conditions from landlocked Livermore Valley to the mountains of Santa Cruz and south to Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, suffered a 2015 harvest that vineyard consultant Lowell Zelinski characterized as a “troubled vintage” at the recent WiVi Conference. Zelinski expressed concern about the prospects for 2016, adding that early bud break could lead to later frost damage to vines.

With help from vineyard and winery associations, Wines & Vines obtained updates from Central Coast grapegrowers, and today we’ll hear from growers and winemakers from Los Olivos to Carmel Valley. A second story will follow tomorrow with updates from the Santa Cruz Mountains and Livermore Valley.

Members of Santa Barbara County Vintners Association saw bud break a week or two early but unevenly, depending on grape variety. Victoria Martinez at 1,000-case Bien Nacido Vineyards in Santa Maria, Calif., said she observed buds pushing through in mid-February, about two weeks ahead of usual. Pruning was on a normal schedule, from Jan. 1 to mid-February.

“Everything has begun to leaf out—even late varieties, like Syrah,” Martinez said. Volunteer and planted cover crops (grasses and legumes) are thriving, too. “The rains and warm weather seem to have come at optimal timing to encourage the cover crop to flourish.”