2026 Vintage Outlook from Donelan Winemaker David Milner
All eyes are on the vineyard right now. The 2026 vintage is trending toward our earliest harvest and possibly lightest crop sizes on record. We track vineyard phenology closely, watching milestones like bud break, flowering, and veraison to anticipate what’s ahead and fine-tune our approach. This year, everything has been accelerated.
The start of veraison on a cluster of Pinot Noir grapes.
Véraison began early in all blocks of Pinot Noir. At Devoto Vineyard, for example, we’re running nearly a month ahead of schedule. Harvest interns will arrive two to three weeks earlier this year. It’s possible that we’ll start picking the first week of August. The crop is light this vintage, with low cluster counts per vine and smaller berries. Flavor and aromatics live in the skins, so that higher skin-to-juice ratio has the potential to produce brilliant wines.
I’m predicting our first picks will be Obsidian Chardonnay or our hillside Dijon 777 clone Pinot Noir at Rochioli. I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re all picked out by the autumnal equinox in September. It’s a remarkable contrast to last year, when our final pick came on November 9—the latest harvest we’ve ever recorded. Nowadays, it feels like each vintage is a pendulum swinging between weather extremes. It’s more important than ever to stay connected to the vineyard so we can adapt as the season unfolds.
Winemaker David Milner and Cellar Master Maya Joye
The winery has been busy, too. We’ve hosted customers and wine critics, and Maya and I recently racked the 2024 Cabernet and Syrahs to tank for bottling. I brought home barrel samples to enjoy with a bone-in ribeye, and man-oh-man, we have some winners. The 2024 Obsidian Estate Syrah is a worthy successor to the 2023. They’ll be fun to taste side by side, given how different the vintages were. 2023 was long and cool with a steady ripening window. 2024 was a touch warmer, with a brief October heat spike that pushed the fruit across the finish line. With bottling and waxing complete, it feels good to have a clear mind going into harvest, fully focused on the 2026 vintage.
We are getting busier by the day, but I truly look forward to the buzz of harvest all year. It’s when our team gets to know each other better, swapping stories of past vintages, sharing crazy harvest tales, and talking about how we’re going to make the best wine possible from the fruit in front of us. It’s an experience every wine lover should have.