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. [caption id="attachment_17095" align="alignnone" width="424"] The start of veraison on a cluster of Pinot Noir grapes.[/caption] 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.
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