2009 harvest is shaping up to be memorable

After a brutal year for the wine industry, California's 2009 harvest is shaping up to be a glorious success. Much of the Pinot Noir and white grapes are already off the vine, and even those winemakers who have been waiting for grapes like Cabernet are finding pleasure in the fruit.

"It's delicious," says Cathy Corison of Corison Winery in St. Helena.

The story she tells is similar to other winemakers'. A relatively cool, dry spring and summer provided the cold nights needed to maintain grapes' essential acidity - the only exception being heat waves in late August and early September, which actually allowed some growers to play catch-up.

"We were thinking we were about 10 days behind most of the year, and that pretty much moved us up," says Nicholas Miller, whose family runs Bien Nacido Vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley. Otherwise? "An ideal growing season."

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