(PD) - The recent heat spike has kicked the North Coast grape harvest into overdrive, as growers near the finish line of the season with a crop that is again earlier than usual and yields expected to be near the historical average.

“Over the last week, the heat has definitely pushed the ripening and really condensed our harvest timeline,” said Karissa Kruse, president of the Sonoma County Winegrowers, the trade group that represents most local grape growers.

About 80 percent of the grapes in the county have been picked, Kruse estimated on Wednesday. Fruit typically picked later in the season, such as cabernet sauvignon and merlot in the Alexander Valley, could be done by the end of next week.

Harvest should be completed in the county by mid-October, two weeks earlier than usual for a season that traditionally wraps up around Halloween, she said. From start to finish, most local growers took an average of six weeks to bring in their crop, she said.

“For most folks, this was a very quick harvest,” Kruse said.

The weather so far has been beneficial for the North Coast’s grape crop, which was valued at $1.1 billion last year in the premium wine region of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties. The vineyards avoided frost during the growing season and spring rainfall provided sufficient water into the summer, where temperatures have been within the historical range.