(WineSpectator) - "If you don't find mildew in your vineyards, you haven't looked hard enough," said Glenn McGourty, a viticulture advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) for Mendocino County. After years of drought conditions, California vintners are enjoying wetter conditions this year. But that means vineyards are being plagued with a new problem: mildew, including downy mildew, a form rarely seen in the Golden State. From cooler coastal regions experiencing an increase in a damp marine layer to Central Valley vineyards with more moisture than usual due to a very wet winter, growers and vineyard consultants alike are on the lookout for mildew.

Mark Battany, UCCE viticulture advisor for San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties, says that cooler coastal areas in those counties have been ripe for powdery mildew this year. "We've also seen some limited downy mildew, a European import, in a few locations this season," he said. "Quite rare for California."