El Niño Strikes Again

For the past couple of days, California has been pounded by a torrential storm. After a year with virtually no rain, the water tables and vineyard wells have been low. We need the rain; Ray Teldeschi told me last week that his vineyard in Dry Creek was "drier than popcorn". Checking the Healdsburg Weather Center, Dry Creek received over 18" of rain in 3 days.

In the short term, the rain is a good thing for the vineyards. If the intensity of the rain continues through next year, the 2003 harvest could be impacted. When Paul Draper, the winemaker at Ridge, wrote about the impact of El Niño on their 1998 Lytton Springs Zinfandel, saying it "..delayed the 1998 growing season by an entire month".

Today's SFGate reports that, this winter will be little El Niño compared to the legendary one in 1998. Here are some highlights from the article, El Nino joins long list of storm conspirators:

• For the next three months, the Weather Service sees precipitation in San Francisco averaging 20 to 50 percent above normal.
• This year's El NiÑo is nowhere near the monster of 1997-98 or some others of recent years.
• Water temperatures at the equatorial surface are ranging 2 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit above normal