(Wines&Vines) - The coming wine grape harvest in California’s Lodi AVA looks to be slightly early and about average in quantity, according to growers there.

Some vineyard yields will be far lower than normal, however, because of an April hailstorm that caused severe damage to vineyards just west of the city of Lodi. Paul Verdegaal, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor for San Joaquin County, told Wines & Vines earlier this week that while he had not been able to visit the vineyards that suffered damage, he heard that their crops had been limited to 2 or 3 tons per acre, which is typically what happens after such damage. “The worst damage was in a 2- by 3-mile area just west of downtown Lodi, with some smaller areas to the east and to the south,” he said. 

Verdegaal went on to say that the area’s overall crop appears to be average, so while the hail damage won’t likely put a dent in the Lodi AVA harvest overall, it will hit some individual growers hard. “The overall crop is average, so most wineries are encouraging their growers with damage to harvest, but profit margins will be squeezed for those growers, even with insurance.”

Otherwise it’s been a fairly “normal” year. Despite a growing season that started about three weeks or more ahead of average, the area’s vineyards slowed down and are now seven to 10 days earlier than normal. Verdegaal said there has been a bit of mildew, and vine mealybug has been more active this year, but pest and disease pressure has been manageable.

One of the Lodi growers who suffered damage during the hailstorm was Tom Hoffman, who owns 180 acres of vineyards. Hoffman sells grapes to area wineries and produces wine at his own estate winery, Heritage Oak Winery in Acampo, Calif. Hoffman said the Zinfandel and Malbec blocks that suffered damage are at about 2 tons per acre, which is around 40% of normal. The clusters that did form are extremely loose, and the vines—particularly the Zinfandel—pushed a heavy second crop that needed to be dropped.

The rest of his vines, however, are doing just fine, and on Monday Hoffman did his first sugar sampling of the year. He said the random survey found most vines were at around 15° Brix, which is normal for this time of year. Based on that first sample and how the vines look, Hoffman said he expected to start picking his whites around Aug. 10. “It’s been a really interesting year, and we’re not through it yet. We have an El Niño out there in the Pacific that’s the strongest it’s been in 20 years,” he said. “We could be wet in October.”