MONTEREY COUNTY — The 2026 winegrape harvest is underway in the Santa Lucia Highlands and across Monterey County, with some growers reporting one of the earliest starts in recent history.
Caraccioli Cellars crews picked the first grapes of the season at Escolle Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands early Thursday, July 23, harvesting eight tons of Pinot Noir for the winery’s Brut Cuvée and Brut Rosé sparkling wines.
“This is the earliest harvest at Escolle Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands in 21 vintages of Caraccioli Cellars, running about three to four weeks ahead of schedule,” Scott Caraccioli said. “Even though we’re early, the cuvées are showcasing great phenolic ripeness and acidity,” he added.
A mild winter and warm spring pushed budbreak and ripening weeks ahead of normal, according to the Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans.
Winemaker Ian Brand of I Brand Wines also picked just over a ton of Melon de Bourgogne from Graff Farmhouse Vineyard in Monterey County’s Chalone AVA on Thursday.
“It’s always our first pick of the year, and we’re tracking about three weeks ahead of normal. Quality is generally good. Everything points to a pretty good vintage for racy whites, which is something this region excels at,” Brand said.
Scheid Vineyards began its harvest last week too, picking Pinot Noir from its Isabelle Vineyard near Chualar for sparkling wine production. The winery, located just off Highway 101 between King City and Greenfield, shared the milestone on social media July 22.
“Harvest came early this year, arriving nearly two weeks ahead of any previous harvest! Our team brought in Pinot Noir from our Isabelle Vineyard this morning for our 2026 Isabelle Sparkling. Here’s to the start of another exciting harvest season,” Scheid Vineyards posted.
Tony Stephen, chief sales officer at Scheid Family Wines, explained that the winery has adapted to earlier harvest dates over the past several decades by focusing on vineyard management practices and matching varieties to the right locations.
“While 2026 is shaping up to be our earliest harvest on record, the early timing itself has not created significant operational challenges for us,” Stephen said.
He noted that irrigation, nutrition, canopy management and soil health help maintain vine balance as harvest timing shifts earlier.
“As a result, we’re not seeing the imbalance between sugar accumulation and flavor development that some observers have been concerned about. Instead, the fruit is progressing as expected and exhibiting the varietal characteristics we’re looking for,” Stephen said.
Stephen added that early samples from the 2026 vintage have shown strong flavor development and phenolic maturity, despite some varieties reaching sugar maturity earlier than historical norms.
“The fruit we’ve evaluated so far is very promising,” he said. “Based on what we’ve tasted to date, we’re optimistic about the quality of the 2026 vintage and expect growers who have matched varieties to site and maintained strong vineyard management practices to produce excellent wines.”
Grower Gary Franscioni, who farms Rosella’s Vineyard and Sierra Mar Vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands, along with the Pisoni Family at Garys’ Vineyard, Soberanes Vineyard and WindRock Vineyard, said they expect to harvest the first Pinot Noir for clients producing still wines sometime in early to mid-August if conditions remain moderate and the region avoids unusual heat spikes.
Russel Joyce, founder and winemaker for Joyce Wine Company in the Arroyo Seco region near Greenfield, said the season is moving at a steady pace.
“Arroyo Seco seems to be cruising along at a mild pace. Even for someone who harvests on the early side, we are still roughly three weeks away before we begin to pick whites and Pinot Noir for Rosé,” Joyce said.
The Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans will host a 2026 Harvest Update with growers and winemakers on Zoom at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 20, for live harvest updates from the region. Registration is available at santaluciahighlands.com.
