Grape grower Brad Goering is keeping a close eye on his Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in Clements, California.
The long-time grower had to shut down harvest of his vineyard overnight, thanks to heavy rain that made it too muddy to get his harvester in the vineyard. Rain can be a grape's worst enemy at this time of year, especially, to certain varieties of the fruit.
While not grown in this particular vineyard, Goering showed ABC10 the Petite Sarah variety of grape, that he also grows, is one of the more susceptible grapes to water damage and mold, because of its thin skin.
"And so that moisture inside the bunch creates sort of a humid condition that creates rot and it starts rotting from inside the bunch, out," said Goering.
He did find evidence of moisture on one random bunch of grapes, but he's not concerned.
"This is a thick-skin variety, but it won't have an adverse affect on them," Goering said holding a bunch.
But, one variety that is having an adverse affect is Lodi's famous Old Vine Zinfandel. Because machines aren't able to harvest them, they must be hand picked. However, higher labor costs are forcing growers, like Goering, to consider taking them out of his vineyard altogether.
"Work week in agriculture is being restricted by the State of California unlike any other states. The amount of wages that we're paying are definitely unlike any other state. Crop cycle vine Zinfandel are getting pulled out," said Bruch Blodgett with the San Joaquin Farm Bureau Federation.
Growers like Goerring will know in a few days if his thin-skinned varieties of grapes suffered any damage. Even so, will it impact wine you might buy in the future?
"No, absolutely not," Goering told ABC10.
That's because he plans to have them picked before any rot can set in.
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