California’s current rainfalls have actually been disastrous for lots of. However some white wine market specialists state there may be an unanticipated silver lining: Heavy rains appear to have not just charged drought-thirsty aquifers and water tables, but also flushed away, or leached, hazardous vineyard salt deposits.
This is no little thing. Salts in soil consist of important micronutrients, but some– like salt, chloride and boron– bring a toxic punch if left to accumulate, an issue worsened by California’s recent dry spells. It’s an area of excellent news in an otherwise bleak California news cycle.
Growing Condition Impacts
Without leaching, poisonous salt deposits infiltrate vines and their root systems. This straight impacts growing conditions and vineyard performance. “Our harvest 2022 was off by in between 20% to 30%,” states Jeff Newton, president and CEO of Coastal Vineyard Care Associates. The company farms about 4,000 acres throughout Santa Barbara County. “Among the main reasons is that we just have not had the leaching that we’ve needed over the last numerous years.”
Salt-poisoned plants dehydrate, desiccate and even pass away. Leaves “burn,” or turn brown. Grape quality likewise suffers. “We have remained in a really genuine dry spell these past few years, and with that, you get an accumulation of salt in the soils, which can affect the quality of the grapes,” states wine maker Ryan Prichard of Sonoma’s Three Sticks White wines. “These heavy rains assist flush these salts out, and renew some of the vital force in the soils.”
Not a Drop to Drink
Ironically, surface salt accumulation can also contaminate ground and well water, resulting in salty irrigation water. “As our wells have been drawn down due to dry spell, we do end up irrigating with less quality water,” states Craig Ledbetter, vice president and partner at Vino Farms in Lodi. “Salt invasion on the west side of Lodi is extremely possible due to its area to the Delta, and its influence on ground water.”
Naturally salted watering systems play a part, too. Josh Beckett, the managing partner and director of operations for Peachy Canyon Winery on California’s Central Coast, supervises 5 estate vineyards stretched throughout western Paso Robles. “The irrigated vineyard water is naturally salty,” he states. “When you’re just irrigating enough just to benefit the plant itself, salt tends to develop. These huge rains are eliminating those salts, cleaning up the soils.”
Salt of the Earth
Deserts tend to develop greater salted soil deposits. “The majority of regions that have salt issues in the soil are deserts, which generally do not get very much rain,” says Greenspan. “So in Paso Robles, where I’m most knowledgeable about substantial, serious salt concerns, their yearly rains is generally 8 to 10 inches.”
Brackish Central Valley’s Lodi and Delta regions also suffer from salt deposits. “Throughout dry spells, salts become a problem– more so in the Delta versus Lodi,” includes Ledbetter. “We certainly have salt (boron) build in the ground, since we have not had the rain to flush the soil in the Delta. I have actually not seen much of that in Lodi.”
Additionally, specific soil series hold salted deposits, such as Santa Barbara. “The underlying geology, soils, rocks– they’re all sedimentary and formed under the ocean, so salt is in the original geology,” says Newton.
Area, Location, Area
Even more north, salt deposits stay an exception, not the norm. “North Coast, we get a lot of rainfall, we don’t have salinity problems, other than for separated locations in Carneros, where it’s close to San Pablo Bay, and there some saltwater invasion issues,” says Greenspan.
“If you look at Southern California and Santa Barbara-area soils, they don’t have the rainfall, the growth, and the soil development that we do here in the north,” states Stu Smith, veteran white wine grower/owner of Smith-Madrone on Napa Valley’s Spring Mountain. “Therefore our soils have the ability to take in most of this rain with little effect.”
“It’s interesting to me,” observes Newton. “Due to the fact that in Napa, for instance, we understand growers who, when you talk to them about the salt concern, their eyes glaze over– because they have a lot rains, so salts are seeped. They may have a lower salt load for their own geology, too. But in Santa Barbara County, for the almost 40 years that I’ve been farming here, we have actually constantly been worried about salts.”
Uncertain Future
The recent floods may have washed away salty vineyard soil deposits, but they left a residue of uncertainty. Climate modification’s troika of fires, dry spells and floods leave white wine growers tap-dancing rapidly each harvest.
Moreover, flood soils avoid vine tenders from pruning and spraying for spore and vines disease mitigation. Wetter, warmer soils also threaten early bud break, resulting in possible spring frost damage, irregular ripening or higher yields.
And yet, a lot of wine growers choose to look on the positive side of California’s recent floods. “With all this rain, it almost appears like Ireland around Paso now,” concludes Beckett, a Paso native. “I have not seen rain like this considering that I was a kid. It’s exciting.”